Honest Lies
by GiraffePanda2
Summary: Alright, alright, I messed up badly. So now, somehow, I live with the mortal enemy, the Suit and his wife. Although, meeting Caffrey wasn't too bad. But school on the other hand isn't so great at times. She's a tall, gangly kid from the streets of NY, with honesty issues. OC!
1. Katherine Rider

**Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar**

**A/N: I should be working on my other stories, but I was inspired by White Collar to write this one. The first two chapters (maybe even three) will be set before the first episode of season 1. Don't worry, Neal will come in. Now, with no further ado, I present to you-  
**

* * *

**HONEST LIES**

"_What's your name?" _

"_Katherine."_

"_You have a last name, Katherine?"_

"_Yes." I tried not to grin when he sighed, obviously a little annoyed._

"_What's your last name?"_

"_...Rider."_

"_Katherine Rider, that your real name?"_

"_Yes, yes it is." I rolled my eyes. "I get it, I shouldn't have stolen your wallet, that should make me a bad person, don't worry. I'm going to think deeply about my actions when I get back to the orphanage."_

~!~

"I'll take 20 bucks for me, ten bucks for Kaden, and 5 for Suzie and then leave 20 for him." I muttered under my breath as I sat on the bench, checking the plain brown leather wallet I had in my hand. I tucked away the money in my pocket and glanced up.

The crowd of people around me didn't pay the slightest attention to me. I clutched my jacket closer around me, and let my body be moved by the crowds. I looked around for my target; he had been wearing a gray suit.

I didn't change my expression when I saw him; instead I got ready to drop the wallet back into his pocket.

It took skill to pickpocket someone. It took even more to un-pickpocket him, meaning giving back the wallet. I had no use for the credit cards, license, or gift cards in there; I only needed some of the cash.

I bumped into him, not saying a word. I kept walking, ignoring his small grumble. He ignored me, and I him.

Simple. As it should be.

And then it wasn't.

As soon as I turned the corner I felt a pull on my wrist. I froze completely, not remembering any of my tips for getting caught. I whirled around, ready to fight.

My mouth had dropped open, my eyes wide. The target, Mr. Gray Suit, had my wrist in his grip, and a slight smug smile. I opened my mouth to protest, or scream when he reached into his jacket and pulled out a badge.

It didn't take long for me to read the giant FBI on it. I didn't dare run, now that he knew my face. I lowered my head and sighed. Thursdays are just not my thing.

~!~

"You're grounded."

"As you can see, I've never left the earth."

"You think this is funny?!"

"Well, I mean, not really, a little bit, maybe-"

"You're more trouble than you're worth! What were you thinking?!"

I didn't answer her, not wanting to tell her my exact thoughts. I made eye contact with the social worker/orphanage lady who was in charge of the teens who lived there. Her neat little bun was falling apart, blonde strands in front of her face. Her eyes were angry, and her lips were colored a light red, too light for me.

I leaned back in my chair, and played a bit my jacket's strings. "Can we go?" I asked her quietly, interrupting her rant on my misbehavior.

She stopped, breathing heavy. "Can we go?" She repeated. "Yes, we can go, I can go. You, however, will be punished so severely that-"

"I will regret the day I was born." I looked at her, meeting her eyes. My expression was one of nonchalantness. I opened my arms a little, "I already do though, so what else do you have?"

I could tell I was just making it worse. I decided to keep my mouth closed. I glanced at my side; a few yards away I could see Mr. FBI, my lovely target, was watching us with an unreadable expression. I forced myself to look away, not wanting to see if there was any pity in them.

Though at the time I had doubted there ever was, I thought any law enforcement would hate kids like me. Runaways, dirty street kids.

I felt the worker, Mrs. Tate, grab my shoulder and force our way out of the building. She had already apologized over and over my actions to the FBI agent. I didn't bother paying attention to anything she said, or what he said after he managed to get the orphanage's number out of me.

It didn't matter, what was important is that I got caught.

And getting caught isn't an option.

Not for me. Not anymore.

~!~

"You just had to tell him your name."

"Shut up Kaden."

"I mean, I get not lying is a big thing, honesty policy and all, but damn girl, this is getting out of hand!"

"Like I said before, shut up Kaden." I moved over a little bit on the couch, and tried not to notice my growing stomach pains. Mrs. Hate-I mean, Tate, sent me upstairs with no dinner.

"We really would've have used the whole 50 bucks though, why'd you leave some for him?" Kaden, the only boy who lived at the orphanage longer than I had, leaned back on the couch next to me. His limbs were sprawled all over the place. He reminded me of Suzie's rag doll.

"We didn't need all of it." I said quietly, looking down at my hands.

"We really need to work on your spice, Rhino."

I punched his arm, hard. "I told you, stop that!" I snapped at him, getting up off the couch.

He just laughed, and waved off my punch. "There's ol' Katty McKatterson!"

I glared at him, and retorted, "Whatever you say, Theodore."

Kaden, aka Theodore Rose Thompson, jolted up, and glared at me. I didn't take on his middle name, because if I did that, he would have really gotten angry.

"Where's Suzie?" He asked, changed the subject before we went too far. We've done that once before, the night I came here.

"Probably downstairs, you know, eating."

He laughed, "Eating? That's for the weenies that actually play by the rules."

I gave him half a smirk. We were notorious for not following the rules. Mrs. Tate had almost given up hope for us. I started walking out the room.

Kaden called out to me, making me stop right before the door. "Get ready; we got potential rents coming in this Saturday." He gave me a sterner look. "Don't blow it, alright? You got a good life ahead of you."

I grinned. "Goodnight, Kaden."

"I mean it Rider! Come Sunday I want your sorry ass gone from here!"

I waved him off, and returned to the room where the rest of the girls slept. I climbed into my creaky old bed, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

~!~

"Well you can always try to see the bright side, you know."

"Shut up, Rider."

I smirked and glanced sideways. "I mean, this is what we always wanted for each other, is it not?" I questioned, looking up at the cracked ceiling.

"It was supposed to be you, stupid."

"I've still got time."

Kaden glared at me, and punched me in the shoulder. "You're really infuriating, you realize that, right?"

I didn't say anything, and shrugged my shoulders instead. My friend groaned and leaned back on the bed.

"I didn't want this." He said, his voice muffled from the arm over his face.

"Don't lie." I whispered. "You should be happy."

"I am!" He said, jolting up. "I'm so happy I might puke, but then every time I look at you, I'm reminded that they chose me, and not you!"

A small smile lit my face. Kaden had gotten picked as a foster kid from the rents that came on Saturday. It was Sunday. He was leaving in a couple hours.

"They seem like nice people, Kaden. Don't mess this up."

"Don't mess it up, what about you?! I saw you sneaking away, you made sure that they wouldn't choose you. You didn't brush you hair-"

"My hair's only an inch longer than yours." I pointed out.

"You obviously didn't shower-"

"Hey!"

Kaden glared at me, "You didn't even show up until they were leaving!"

I tilted my head, "Let it go, Kaden. You're going to go home with them, give up pickpocketing and thieving-" He let out a groan, but I continued, "And live a very boring normal life, with a roof, two parents, and 3 meals a day, or, at least, you should."

He was silent, looking down at his feet. "I don't understand though. Why pick me?" Kaden was tall, gangly, with short brown hair and brown eyes. His nose was broken, and he wasn't the prettiest flower of the bunch. Neither was I, for the matter.

"Just let it go." I said, rubbing his shoulder. "And get the heck outta here, or I'll kick you out myself!"

"You're lying."

Smiling grimly, I told him, "You know I don't lie, Kaden."

"Alright." He said, letting out the longest sigh I've ever heard from him. He stood, getting ready to go pack. He didn't look me in the eye, but instead just shuffled from side to side. "I, um…" Squaring his shoulders, but still with his back turned to me, he finally said, "I'm going to miss you… Katherine."

I surprised him with a hug from behind. "I'm going to miss you too… Theodore."

He groaned, and shoved me away, "Alright, alright, enough with the lovey-dovey stuff, we can't have any more rumors, can we?" He looked at me, grinning. Giving my nose a tweak, he added, "Watch out for Suzie, got it? And the other little ones too."

I watched as he left the room, and as he was walking down the hall, I leaned out and called out, "Hey, at least you won't see my sorry ass anymore!"

He gave me a not-so-nice gesture in return. I laughed, and turned back into the room where all the girls slept. I wiped off the tears that started to roll down my cheeks, and slowly crawled back into the bed.

I'm gonna miss him.

A lot.

~!~

"You've got to stop."

It had been 3 weeks since Kaden left.

"Seriously, Kat, listen to me!"

I missed him a lot, he sent a letter, albeit a short one.

"Katherine Angel Rider you better listen to me now or so help me I will kick you in the mouth."

"My middle name's not Angel."

"Shut up, you imbecile."

I looked up from my spot on the couch. I was curled up in a blanket, trying to conserve energy for the day. Suzie, the smallest of the teens, was standing over me, her hands on her hips. She had golden sunshine hair, and big bright blue eyes. It's a wonder why she hasn't been picked for adoption, or fostering.

"This has to end, now." She ordered, looking down at me. "You can't keep moping, it's been a month!-"

"3 weeks, Suz." I murmured, and curled up deeper.

"I know you miss him, I do too, but what would you think he would do if he saw you now?"

"Probably kick me."

Suzie sighed, "Get up."

"No thanks."

"GET UP YOU LAZY SACK OF BONES!"

I was jolted out of my comfortable spot on the couch, onto the floor. My ears were ringing, and I squinted. I remembered why she wasn't picked. "Jeez Suzie!" I said, getting up. "Was that necessary?"

Suzie, aka the Blonde Banshee, smiled innocently. "I said get up, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." I grumbled, rubbing my head.

She bit her lip, looking up at me. "Please, Kat, you need to go out, do something!"

"I'm grounded, remember?" Mrs. Tate was still pissed off that I pickpocketed an FBI agent.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Well if I had to answer-"

Suzie held up a hand, "You'll talk all day about rights and wrongs. Now go out and pickpocket some people. I'm hungry."

"Do it yourself." I said, stretching. I started to walk out. We got a meal a day, us older ones. Pickpocketing helped feed the hungry bellies. It was also a way to blow off steam. I liked to think of it as an alternative to getting high.

"Please, Kat! Just go outside, see the sunshine, smell the sweat, breath the smog-filled air."

"You just love to see me in pain, do you not?"

"You know the answer to that already, Honest Policy."

Honest Policy, another rather stupid nickname. I didn't bother answering her, and traveling down the stairs, and into the great hall. Coats, shoes, and other personal items littered the room. Slowly, so that I didn't alert anyone, I slipped past the open doors. I opened the front door, and slipped out, closing it softly behind me.

I looked up, and noticed that the sun was blocked by several huge rainy gray clouds. I rolled my eyes, "See the sunshine indeed." I muttered to myself. Never the less, I still walked out onto the street, not caring if Mrs. Tate saw me through the window.

Deciding that Suzie was right, I walked on despite the cold atmosphere. I clutched my arms, and let my mind drift.

~!~

"Oof!"

"Oh, sorry!"

I looked up, I had bumped into a woman carrying some groceries. She had knocked me down to the ground. I landed on my butt, and winced. I scraped my hands on the pavement.

"It's my fault actually, I should have been looking where I was going." I mumbled, standing up. There was a bag of fruit lying next to me, and picked it up. I handed it to the woman, stretching my neck. I heard it pop and crack. "No worries, I'll live."

She looked at me with kind eyes, and I realized that I was just as tall as her, if not taller. She had brown hair and a smile on her face. I looked down, "Uh, sorry about the fruit."

"Oh no, its fine, what I'm worried about is your hands. They looked like they're pretty scratched up." Without warning, she shifted her bags and took one of my hands in her own.

I almost yanked it away, but for some reason her presence… soothed me.

She studied my hand, then clucked her tongue. "Yup, you're going to need to get that disinfected.

I took my hand away, "Uh, thanks! But I think I need to get back…" Mrs. Hate-Tate, I mean Mrs. Tate, might have noticed I'm missing.

"Oh, where do you live?"

"I live…" I trailed off, looking around. I didn't recognize any of the buildings. "Um…" I must have wandered too far from the orphanage. I couldn't see any of the street names so I didn't know where I was.

"You know," The woman said, looking at me, "I live right by here, you can come over and I can disinfect your hands." She must have noticed my deer-in-the-headlights look because she added suddenly, "Just for a couple of minutes, of course."

I bit my lip. Giving her a confused look, I stated, "You don't even know me."

She smiled again, stretching out her hand, "Well how about I start? I'm Elizabeth."

I looked at her uncertainly, before grabbing her hand. "Katherine."

~!~

"Nice place." I said, looking around. I shuffled back and forth, wiping my feet on the welcome mat. It had started to sprinkle rain as we walked back to Elizabeth's house.

"Set the bags on the counter, and I'll get the first aid kit." Elizabeth stated, flashing me another kind smile.

I couldn't help but reply, "Yes ma'am." I heard her chuckled as I headed towards the kitchen. I set down the groceries I offered to carry for her. She only let me carry them, after assuring it wouldn't hurt my hands too much.

I walked carefully from the kitchen into the dining room/living room. It was quaint, nice. I clutched the edges of my jacket. It felt like… Almost, like… Home?

I almost let out a laugh. Home? How could I know what that felt like?

Going back to the kitchen, I realized that my stomach was getting especially loud. I managed to console it as we walked here, but I now realized the inevitable.

I was hungry.

I licked my lips, and looked at the apple in the bags of groceries. It had been in the bag of fruit that had dropped to the sidewalk. It was bruised but… I bit my lip and started to reach for it. Pausing, I remembered Elizabeth's kind face and sighed. I let my hand drop and I leaned against the counter.

"Alright, I've got disinfectant, paper towels, antibiotic cream and band aids." Elizabeth suddenly entered the kitchen. I looked around at her, and then she patted the counter. "Hop up, and I'll patch you up."

"I can do it myself, Mrs. Elizabeth." I tried to take the first aid kit from her, "Please, it's not necessary for you to do this."

She nodded her head and kept a firm grip on the supplies. "Please, what kind of person would I be if I didn't help you?"

I lowered my eyes. "I can do it myself."

She looked at me straight in the eyes. "I'm not saying you can't, Katherine. But what's wrong with a bit of help?" She smiled softly.

I didn't look up but hopped up on the counter by her. I could tell it made her happy. I waited patiently, only letting out a 'ouch' every now and then. Soon I was all bandaged up. She had wrapped clean white bandages around my hands to keep the scratches from getting infected.

I let out a little inward sigh. I wouldn't be able to do much pickpocketing with these on. It was like another way of being put into handcuffs. I jumped off the counter and told her, "Thank you so much, Mrs. Elizabeth, but I should head back now."

"Oh honey, are you sure? It's getting worse out there." It was thundering, and every couple of minutes, there had been lightning. The sprinkling had turned into a storm. I glanced at Elizabeth, could tell she wanted me to stay.

With a little pang I shook my head, "Thank you for all you've done but-" I stopped suddenly. My cheeks grew pink.

Elizabeth smiled, "Are you hungry? You should have said something." Of course my stomach had to growl now.

"Uh-" I couldn't say I wasn't. I'd be lying.

"It's raining really hard now, at least stay until it lets up." Elizabeth was the one who wasn't going to let up.

"Yes ma'am." I said, letting my head hang low. She laughed and I chuckled as well.

"While we wait, how about I make you a sandwich or something?"

She didn't know it, but she was just making it worse. I didn't need her help. I mean, it would be nice, but I could survive without it.

"That's not necessary-" I tried to say again, but she stopped me.

"Now, what would your mother think of me if I let you go home hungry?" She asked, getting out ingredients from the fridge. "Speaking of which, do you need to call your mom?"

I let out a little laugh, "No."

She gave me an odd look, "Really? You sure, because you can use the phone."

I shook my head. "Thanks, but I'd actually need a mom to call." Oops.

"Oh I'm sorry, what about your dad then?" Elizabeth asked. I didn't meet her eyes. I didn't want the pity. I didn't need a mom. I didn't answer her, and just shrugged my shoulders.

She didn't press, and I let out a sigh of relief. I watched as she made the sandwich, adding ham and turkey. I think I could've drooled.

I heard the footsteps before the click of the key. I immediately got off of the stool, ready to flee. Elizabeth looked at me, about to ask what was wrong, when we heard the front door open.

"I should go." I blurted out. But I was blocked out by a man calling out, "Elizabeth? I'm home."

I knew that voice.

"Right here, honey." Elizabeth flashed me a smile. "We've got company."

I froze, knowing she meant me. What should I do? What should I do?

He walked in, carrying a briefcase. He kissed Elizabeth on the forehead before noticing I was there.

I could see my own shock and surprise reflected in his eyes. I couldn't speak, my tongue wouldn't work.

He was confused, I could tell. Elizabeth didn't notice. She introduced him to me, "This is-"

"Katherine?" He said, asking to see if he got it right.

I nodded my head in greeting. "Katherine Rider." I swallowed nervously and glanced to the side. "'Sup?"

* * *

**HONEST LIES**

**Katherine is one of my favorite characters. Honestly, I really do have a lot planned for this story. I don't think it'll be much of a plot story. I might just to drabbles, but you can definitely expect story-arcs, and character development!**

**Thank you for reading. Now, please review and tell me if it was any good? Do you like Kaden, Suzie and Katherine? Would you like to see more of the orphanage kids?**

**With that out of the way, it's time to say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	2. Susan Francis Murphy

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar**

* * *

I was sitting on a very nice couch, in my not-so-nice clothes, petting the head of a big old yellow lab. His name's Sachmo.

I heard Elizabeth and _him _talking quietly in the kitchen. I had moved from the stool to the living room to give them some privacy. I was going to make an escape, but it was still thundering outside. Every muscle in my body was screaming to run, hide, leave, do _anything _than just _sit _there. I made a move to stand up, but before I could take a step, Elizabeth came in.

She offered me a smile, which I returned half-heartedly. I ran my fingers through my messy hair and kept looking down. "I'll go now," I said, still not meeting her eyes. I stepped over Sachmo, heading towards the door.

"Wait."

I stopped, it was _his _voice. The FBI agent's voice. I bit my lip and slowly turned around to look at him. He was standing beside Elizabeth, arm over her shoulder. I could tell that he was very protective of her.

"It's-" He took a moment before setting his shoulders and continuing. "It's still raining, how about you stay. Just until it lightens back up."

Elizabeth nudged him with her elbow and he shot her a look. She returned it with a smile. He sighed and then added, "Would you like to have… dinner with us?"

I panicked.

"Oh, no no no! That's really not necessary! I mean, you've already bandaged my hands-" I lifted them up to show my point, and I began to back away, "So thank you so much for the offer, but honestly-" I froze. I gritted my teeth and then continued, "I'm fine."

"See?" He said, turning to Elizabeth. "She's fine."

Elizabeth huffed before turning her shockingly warm gaze upon me and off her husband. "Please, it would be our pleasure. I insist. Besides, I happen to know for a fact, that you're probably really hungry."

It was that moment when my stomach let out a low growl. My cheeks grew pink and I sighed. I could tell _he _had a corner of his mouth lifted up.

"Alright." I said softly.

"What was that?" She asked, smiling.

I looked up, meeting her eyes and smiled on my own. "Yes." I said louder.

"Great! Now, how about you help me get dinner started?"

~!~

"Alright, now, just add the salt and pepper, and then stir occasionally." Elizabeth said, looking over my shoulder at the pot of mashed potatoes. I nodded and added the salt and pepper.

"So, Katherine…"

I internally winced. Peter, aka, the man who I had pickpocketed last week, was sitting on the counter, studying me. I could tell he was rather reluctant to leave his wife alone with me. It hurt my feelings a little bit, but I would have reacted the same way.

"Does your supervisor know where you are?"

Elizabeth looked up, "Supervisor?"

Before Peter could open his mouth, I answered her. "Mrs. Tate. She's, um, in charge of the older kid's cases." I looked up, meeting her bright blue eyes. "At the orphanage."

I waited for the reaction, the gasp, the shocked look, the pity.

"Oh… Does she know where you are, though?" Elizabeth said, continuing with the salad she was making. She put all different kinds of vegetables into it, cucumbers, yellow peppers, tomatoes.

I bit my lip, wondering how I should answer.

"Katherine," Peter said, tensing up slightly. I turned around to face the both of them. Taking a deep breath, I answered, "Nope."

He raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Hmph." He crossed his arms across his chest.

"Peter, would you please get the plates out?" Elizabeth asked. He nodded and stood up. I could tell he still wanted to ask me questions.

"Katherine, could you help him set the table as well? I think that I can handle everything from here."

I wanted to protest, I _should've _protested, but instead I did as I was told, and quickly found the silverware and placed them on the table. Once the glasses were set on the table, Elizabeth placed the rest of the food on the table and we all sat down.

I could Peter was uncomfortable with me there; I was a _thief, _a _rogue_ to him. I was not supposed to be sitting at his dinner table with his nice and warm wife, in his very nicely decorated house, eating the very delicious plate of food before me.

I took a bite of the mashed potatoes, the one dish I contributed to the meal. Peter hadn't touched his food, but kept looking at me.

"Katherine," Elizabeth said, smiling. She was trying to break the awkward silence. "How old are you?"

I casted Peter a careful look before answering. "I'm 15."

"How long have you've been in the system?" Peter asked.

"Peter!" Elizabeth said, hitting him lightly on the arm.

"Oh no, no, that's fine." I let out a small smirk, "It's a legitimate question." I took a bite of the chicken. I almost let out a moan; it'd been so long since I had chicken. "I was, uh, admitted around…" I pretended to think for a moment. "It was a while ago." I finished, not wanting to go into details exactly.

Luckily for me, they didn't push any further.

"Do you go to school?" Elizabeth asked, after a couple of minutes of silence.

I had taken my last bite of chicken, so I just nodded. I did go to school. Almost.

I could hear the rain settling down. I had to get out of here. It was suffocating me. I didn't belong here, not in a place like this.

I quickly ate the rest of my food. I barely noticed that I actually felt full. I cleaned my plate completely, and stood up quickly. I moved so fast, that Elizabeth and Peter didn't have time to say anything. I removed my plates; utensils and put them in the sink. I took one last gulp of the water (even their _water _tasted better) from my glass and then put that in the sink as well.

"Thank you for your hospitality." I said quickly. I knew that I probably should have stayed, but I should've left earlier. I _really _did not have to be here. I didn't belong here.

_did i?_

I grabbed my jacket from where it had been on the couch and rushed out the door. I didn't even let them say goodbye to me.

~!~

"Where have you've been?!" Mrs. Hate/Tate screeched at me. Her face was red, and she had her shoes on. Was she about to go outside to look for me? Not likely.

"Away from here." I said, growling out my answer. I was soaking wet. Not a single inch of me was dry. Midway on my way back, the rain suddenly started pouring again. I was stuck looking around New York for a familiar sign before I finally found Central Park. I managed to head back from there. I stomped past Mrs. Tate and ran up the stairs. "I'm going to get dressed." I muttered.

"You missed dinner!" She shouted back up the stairs.

"I'm not hungry!" I yelled back before slamming the girl's dormitory door.

Heads shot up, eyes widened and questions started to pour out of their mouths. Suzie didn't look up from where she was playing solitaire. Her hair was perfectly puffed up in blonde curls, and her pajamas looked precious, even though they were the standard grey shirts and gym shorts that they handed out to all residents.

"'M rather not in the mood." I grumbled before peeling off my jacket and throwing it onto my bed. I ruffled my hair; it was at the point where it kept getting into my eyes. I needed to cut it again.

"Bad day?" Suzie asked. Her bed was right beside mine. "Did you get caught again?" Her eyes flickered up and she smiled.

I fell back unto my bed, looking up at the ceiling. I could feel my wet clothes creep into my sheet. Now I would sleep on wet sheets all night.

"Rine." Suzie said. I could hear her slight concern. So small that it was barely resident in her voice.

I didn't look at her, and instead curled up on my side. My dark red shirt was stuck to my skin, my jeans felt heavy. I didn't even bother to take off my shoes.

"Seriously Riny, enough with the dramatics."

"Night Suz." And with that, I simple closed my eyes. Tired to the bone.

~!~

A week passed. I still had barely left the orphanage. Not for lack of trying, believe me. Mrs. Tate had been keeping a closer eye on me than I had been used to. We kept having new rents come in as well. Seems like folks were feeling lonely.

In fact, yesterday, we had an adoption.

"I thought I might find you up here."

"How did it end up like this?"

"That's a very deep philosophical question. I recommend the monks for that."

"Katherine-"

"Suz. Can we just pretend?"

Suzie, dear dear Suzie. With her golden curls, big blue eyes, pink mouth, fair skin. Looked like a real china doll. It had been only a matter of time.

Suzie fell silent and I sat beside her. We were on the roof of the orphanage. I could see the sun setting against the city skyline. "You gonna miss it?"

"Everything!" She blurted out, and then she curled up in a ball, her knees by her chest, and her cheek resting on the top of her right knee.

"First Kaiden-"

"Suz, I'm not going to die if you're not here." I reminded her. I leaned back and tried to ignore the deepening pain in my heart.

Suzie had been adopted yesterday. By a single mother. She had three dogs and two cats. I sure hoped she was nice to Suzie. Four weeks ago, Kaiden was adopted. Now Suzie was leaving as well.

"You're going to get adopted." Suzie said firmly.

I rolled my eyes and then winced. "Please, don't make any promises."

Suzie looked up at me, her eyes tearing up. "Don't cry." I cooed, reaching over and grabbed her hand. "It's not the end, Suz."

"This sucks." She declared. I laughed, and nodded.

"Honey, just wait. Soon this place is going to be a distant memory."

Suzie gaped at me. "How can you say that?" She asked, shocked.

I gave her a rueful smile. "Because it will be. I give it a month, a week tops. You're not going to remember this place."

Suzie shook her head fiercely. "No, no no! I could never forget you, or Kaiden, or Lu-"

"Why hasn't Kaiden written then?"

Suzie was silent for a moment. "What do you mean?" She asked gravely.

I bit back a bitter laugh. "It's been a month since he left. So where are the letters he promised?" I stood up, and stretched. "Face the grit and the gravel," I opened my arms wide, gesturing to the crappy place that was below us. "No one ever wants to remember this place. We cut the ties we had here, we replace out memories with new ones."

"Katherine!"

"Who ever _wanted _to be here, Susan?! Who could ever want to come back here? I wouldn't."

Suzie didn't answer me. "I thought so." I said. I turned on my heel. "Go and pack up, she'll be here soon."

~!~

"Alright, Susan. one last round of goodbyes and then you're off!" Mrs. Tate said brightly. Suzie rolled her eyes, and shouldered her bags. She gave her new mother a side glance before sighing. Down the list she went, hugging each of us carefully. We all murmured our goodbyes to her.

When it came to me, the last person in the line she stopped.

_Smack!_

Suzie's hand was still in the air, and my cheek was sporting a bright red handprint. I worked my jaw, "You can still pack a hit, can't you, Suz?"

"Shut up, you bitch."

My eyes brows rose. "Well do continue, then, sweet angel." I was spiting her further on.

Her face turned red. "You listen to me, and you listen to me, Rine. I _refuse_ to forget about you, alright? You're going to be wrong, got it? I _will _come back here, I _will _write letters and dammit all, you _WILL _GET ADOPTED KATHERINE ANGEL RIDER!"

Everyone was silent.

"My middle name's not Angel."

Suzie cracked a smile and so did I. "Good luck, Susan Frances Murphy." I knocked fists with her, and then gave her a quick hug.

She turned smartly on her heel, a trick she taught me, and continued out the door, and out of my life.

I tilted my head and smiled grimly. "Be careful with that one!" I called out to her new mother. "She may look like a rose, but she's got a lot of thorns."

Her mother, who had perfect blonde hair and small brown eyes smiled. She was the perfect image of a housewife, small and mousy. She gave me a wicked grin and rolled up her shirt. On the side was a tattoo of skull.

"Rock on." I said solemnly.

She nodded and left.

That was the last time I ever saw Suzie. Well, for a while anyway.

~!~

"I need to get out." I muttered.

"Uh, Katherine?"

I turned to look down at the small redheaded boy at my side. He was scared out of his pants-shaky hands, biting of the lip, shuffling feet.

I nodded for him to continue, and after taking a deep breath he told me, "I've got something for you…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pamphlet.

"What's this?" I asked, grabbing it. The words blurred and I angrily wiped at my eyes. Tears were lining in my eyes. Again. I gritted my teeth and began to read.

"It's a pamphlet for a circus." The little boy interrupted.

I looked at him, "Why would I-" I froze. "That's rather brilliant, Franklin. Thank you." I gave the boy, Franklin, a smile.

The pamphlet said it started tomorrow at 5, in Winchester Garden Parks. A perfect picking place.

I barely noticed that Franklin had walked away. Or the tears that slowly started to crawl down my face. This was a job that Kaiden and I would have done together, most likely. I wiped the tears again. I didn't want to cry.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke harshly and deliberately. "I _will not _cry."

And so I did not.

* * *

**That's it! No Neal in this one, sorry about that. Actually, Neal won't appear at least two or more chapters ahead. It will follow the the TV show pretty closely, as close as I can. But this is not so much about Neal and Peter as it is about Katherine. And no, Katherine is not Kate. Their names are the same though, I will admit that. But she is referred to as Katherine, Rine, Riny, etc.  
**

**Now on to the very lovely person who reviewed my story! Albeit, it took me a while to translate it, here you go, Meire! PS: For my English fans, my response is in Portuguese. So if you want to know what it is, simply **

**Meire: Neal vai entrar, eu prometo. Mas devo avisá-lo agora, que isso não será principalmente sobre Neal em tudo. Ha, Neal não vai ser uma criança nesta, ele vai ser o seu habitual auto encantador. Obrigada pela revisão! Este capítulo é dedicado a você!**

**With that out of the way, it's time to say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	3. Lucy

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar.**

* * *

"I think I might hate clowns."

"That would be understandable."

"Can we leave?"

"No." I cast a look down at the little girl with brown curls. Lucy reminded me strongly of Suzie, in the looks department. However, she was timid and mousy in her personality.

I sighed and held out my hand. "Alright, Lu, let's head out then."

Lucy grabbed my hand immediately. We walked down towards the circus. I could hear the screams and shouts of little children, the laughing adults. The smell of roasted peanuts and cotton candy filled my nose.

"Woman in the red hat, to our left." I whispered down to Lucy. I wore a cheerful smile on my face as did Lucy.

I could see her eyes narrow and trace the target. I felt a shiver go up my spine and a slight guilty feeling came over me. I shook it off and 'accidently' let go of Lucy's hand.

She started to skip off, towards Ms. Red Hat. Once she was in the near vicinity of the target, I started to call out her name.

"Lu, Lu!" I sang out, a picture of a slight distressed older sibling, "Come back!"

'Lu' bounced over to the Red Hat and fell down right in front of her. I waited patiently until she began to help Lucy up before stopping close by. I snuck my hand into her jacket pocket. Before she could notice, I quickly grabbed her wallet and slipped it to Lucy, who held it behind her back as she hid behind my legs.

"Oh, thank you for helping her up!" I said, giving the woman a gentle smile.

"It was no problem." She told me back in a sweet voice. "It's fine! She's not hurt is she?"

"_Oh no, its fine, what I'm worried about is your hands. They looked like they're pretty scratched up." _

I shook my head, "You're alright, right Lucy?"

Lucy shot me an odd look, and I nearly cursed myself. I had said Lucy, when I wasn't planning on saying her name when we were around the target. It could lead to complications. Lucy smiled and answered anyway, "I'm all good, Kat." She wrapped her arms around my legs, the picture of adorable. She had already hidden the wallet in the back of her pants.

Ms. Red Hat smiled and then left, waving goodbye to us.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side. Her little mouth was curved to a frown and her bright blue eyes held more questions.

I got hit by the sudden image of Elizabeth's blue eyes and warm smile.

"Let's just go, okay? Some more training, hm?"

Lucy pouted. Crossing her arms, she said, "I'm hungry. Can we get some dinner?"

"_Would you like to have… dinner with us?"_

"No!" I whispered harshly. Lucy looked taken back and then I quickly shook my head. "Uh, sorry, Lu. I'm, uh…" I ran my fingers through my hair. "It's…" For the first time, I realized that I didn't have a truthful answer.

I felt her lace her small fingers through my calloused ones. "How about we just head back, okay?" I didn't look down, for fear of being reminded of Elizabeth. A sudden ache started in my chest that surprised me greatly.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Antonio wants to see you."

Those words could never mean well.

"Tell Antonio he can just shove it in his a-"

"Ah, my darling Kate!"

I looked up. Antonio was a 6"0 dark skinned man with a British accent. His 'friend' otherwise known as the personal bodyguard 'Greg', stood beside him. He was the one that spoke first to me.

I leaned back on my park bench, a half-eaten sandwich in my hands. "Why are you here, Antonio?"

He grinned and sat next to me. "Always straight to the point. No finesse in you, Kate."

His bodyguard, 'Greg' walked aways a bit, no doubt to be a lookout.

"Could you get to the point?" I said wearily. I suddenly lost my appetite.

"I am in need of your expertise." I casted him a side look.

"_My expertise? _" I repeated. "Sorry, but didn't you hear? Apparently I've lost my 'stuff'." I clenched and unclenched my fists. "I don't know how much use I'll be to you." There was a rumor going around that since I've lost my partners (Kaiden and Suzie) I've been lacking in skill.

Antonio was a thief. A mastermind hidden by bodyguards and clever traps that always pointed to someone else. I was a rogue; my expertise wasn't as well-known as his.

"I'm not interested in being a scapegoat, Antonio."

"Kate, dear, I could never make you a scapegoat!" He showed me a cheerful smile that held lies between the cracks of his shining white teeth. "I just need you to do a little… extracting for me."

I raised an eyebrow. "Antonio, I know we go back a ways but…" It was true, I knew Antonio for a while, before he got really into thieving. "Why would you choose me? I'm-"

"Invisible." He supplied. "An orphan, foster kid. Not of importance." The smile he gave me drew shivers down my spine, despite the warm and sunny afternoon. "And that, Kate, is why I need you."

I stood up, ready to leave. "No thank you, Antonio."

"You're itching."

I paused, my back turned to him.

"I can see it in your hands, they keep twitching. And your eyes, shifting sideways constantly. You may not want to face it, but you _need_ this job." He had stood up; I could hear him standing right behind me.

"So… Can I count on you?"

* * *

"You so owe me."

"That I do, Kate darling that I do."

I scowled, slipping on my gloves. "I mean, seriously, I want a bigger cut." I eyed Antonio distrustfully.

"Don't trust me, darling?"

"You should know that by now, Antonio." I laced up my boots. I glanced down at myself when I was finished.

"And what's that, Kate?"

I was wearing all black, light boots with good grip, and skin tight gloves. Barely an inch of skin was showing. Kaiden would joke and say that this was my 'cat suit'. I swallowed back tears and looked up at Antonio. "I don't really trust people."

The plan was solid. Antonio's men would drop off the package in a not-so secure location. I would wait there and we'd switch packages. While they went on ahead with the fake package, I would take the real one and drop it off to Antonio.

In reality, it was just a precaution. I didn't _need _to be there.

_So why was I?_

I glanced at Antonio. I needed answers. I glanced down. My hands were twitching every couple of minutes, my feet were bouncing. It was like a drug, the adrenaline. I needed it.

Breathing in deeply then exhaling it slowly, I turned around and stretched my limbs. I would need to be quick and silent. I looked down at the 'package'.

It was a black backpack, nondescript. When I lifted it up to test the weight, I was surprised to find it was filled with…

"A picnic?" I looked at Antonio for answers.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Finesse darling, all about the details."

* * *

It was all about the details.

_I knew that this was a bad idea,_ I thought to myself as I watched a man get murdered.

* * *

**Hi! Sorry no Neal in this story, I've been thinking about ti and he won't come in for a while. 3 or 4 more chapters. I've got to get Kate into the Burkes household first. :) Don't worry though, I'm currently in the process of figuring out all the things for this story. **

**Reviews:**

**chicca01: Aw, thank you! I'm trying to work very hard on this story. Yeah, El is my favorite character, and I loved the idea of her as a mother. THnak you for your review!**

**guest (1): Thank you! I will most certainly keep going. :) Thank you for your review!**

**Meire: Você é bem vindo! Obrigado rever novamente, isso significa o mundo para mim! Kaiden e Suzie vai voltar, mas eles não estão em apuros. As adoções são sólidos, mas eu não ter planejado tão longe, então eu estou pensando que talvez um deles fica em apuros. Talvez, o que você acha? Beijos. Além disso, uma pequena pergunta, você fala Português e Inglês? Ou apenas um, eu tenho notado que você está opiniões são em Português. Eu estou respondendo a sua opinião em Português, mas eu estou usando o Google Translate para obter ajuda.**

**guest (2): I've had this idea floating in my mind for a while. Thank you for reviewing!**

**reader82: I will continue, I've got ideas for this story!**

**With that out of the way, it's time to say!-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	4. Peter Burke

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar.

* * *

It was all about the details.

I knew that this was a bad idea, I thought to myself as I watched a man get murdered.

* * *

I was waiting patiently in an alley, a block away from where the hit was. The drop-off was 3 minutes late. I slowed down my breathing and crouched back down behind the dumpster to wait. After a few moments, I heard footsteps. "If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?" A man said, approaching the dumpster.

I emerged from my hiding spot and said my piece, "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" I held out my backpack. "Quickly now." I said, when the man wouldn't move. In hindsight, I should have known something was up.

He grinned, dropping the backpack, and shot towards me. I turned around and ran. Fast as I could, I ran back towards the trashcans, grabbed a lid, and swung behind me. I wasn't built for combat, I was built for speed. Long legs, big lungs.

The man, otherwise known as the traitor, dodged the metal lid and grabbed my wrist. He pulled me towards him and raised his fist. I didn't even stop for a second. I kept struggling and stomped on his foot, then punched his stomach, chest, groin, anything I could do that would get him to stop. My heart was pumping, my brain was on overdrive.

I didn't scream, that would attract attention. If it attracted attention, who knows what would happen to me? I didn't want to get the police involved, or worse, the Feds.

The man got a good hit to my face and I groaned. I caught him grinning again before he hit me again, this time in the stomach. I pulled his arm near my head and bit down as hard as I could on bare skin. He yelped then dropped my hand and backed off. I didn't waste anytime, despite my head pounding and the terrible ache in my diaphram. Lurching to the left side, I climbed up on the dumpster and then made a grab for the fire escape ladder on the side of the building.

When I was pulling myself up, the traitor grabbed my ankle and started to pull. I was in slight hysterics. I kept kicking and kicking and pulling up with all my strength, desperate to get away.

Suddenly, I felt my ankle become free, and I pulled the rest of myself up on the fire escape.

"Make sure no one sees."

I looked down, where the traitor was standing up, a black backpack a couple of feet away from him. Antonio stood before him, hands in his pocket, his stance easy-going. Another man, huge and tall, stood at the mouth of the alley. It amazed me that no one noticed this so far.

Or maybe they did, and just decided that it wasn't worth their time.

"Kate dear, are you alright? I do hope you weren't too injured. I thought of using someone else, you know, but I knew you wouldn't mind, right?" Antonio didn't look up at me, but instead kept his eyes on the traitor.

My eyes narrowed, "You knew?! You planned this?! You bas-"

"Of course not." He said harshly. "I knew that I had a mole, and so I devised a plan. Couldn't you tell that something was a little off? Why would I go to you, for a real heist, if not to use you for something else?" He finally looked at me, flashing me another white-toothed smile. I felt shivers go down my spine. "It's all about the details."

Without blinking, he pulled out a gun, and shot the man in front of him.

I jolted up and started to climb the fire escape. "Kate!" Antonio called out, in a sweet voice. "Don't you want your cut?"

I didn't pause in my climbing. I kept going, the only thing on my mind was survival. I made it up to the roof, by grabbing holding of window sills and hauling myself up upon the ledge. "Don't stop." I whispered to myself. "Don't stop moving." I was lying on the ground, on top of the hard roof, trying to catch my breath.

Hauling myself up onto two legs, I looked down at the alleyway. Antonio and his man were gone, as was the body. I didn't pause before walking to the other side. I started to run and then leapt onto the roof of the building next to me. I landed with a somersault then launched myself up again. Using my momentum, I kept repeating, dodging air vents but keeping track where I was while running. This is what people called parkour.

This is what I would've done, had the mission gone to plan and hadn't ended up with a dead man. Finally slowing down, I climbed down another building, an apartment complex. When I dropped to the ground, I collapsed. My legs were shaking and my hands slowly made their way behind me. I tugged off the backpack that I was wearing and opened it. I smirked, wondering when Antonio will realize that he should have told me all the details.

I took a peek of what was so important. I leaned against the brick wall, disbelief in my eyes.

"Well, shit."

* * *

I paced, back and forth in the orphanage female dormitory. I didn't have any place else I coudl use. Lucy looked at me with big eyes, but I didn't look back. The black backpack was still on my shoulders, I wasn't going to let it go anytime soon.

I bit my lip, and considered my options. If I returned it to Antonio, then he would dispose of me in someway, most likely. I could tell him I didn't know that the bags were switched, but he would never believe me, especially since I'd be lying. I had purposely switched the bags. If I went to the police, then I would get into trouble, and Antonio would get into trouble, which means Kaiden and Suzy could get into trouble as well.

I let out a groan and kicked the wall. Nothing would work!

Tears started to make an appearance and I blinked quickly to get rid of them. I didn't have time to cry, I had to figure this problem out. If I just left the bag at the police station Antonio would hear of it and knew that I purposely did that.

Who could I trust to get Antonio before he got me?

Or…

I bit my lip and ran my fingers through my hair. I could always get rid the package myself.

The bag contained jewels. Specifically, jewels that were supposed to be in a museum on this upcoming Monday. They belonged to some old foreign king in some old foreign land. Antonio must have intercepted them before they were delivered to the musuem.

If Antonio was planning on selling the jewels, I could find his buyer and sell them myself. Again, came the consequences of Antonio.

If I could, I would have kicked myself over and over again. I was an idiot for taking the bag.

So the final question, who I trust with the truth and not get hurt from it?

I sat down on a nearby bed suddenly when I realized an option.

I did know someone who could help me. I hope.

* * *

I should not be here. I should be far, far, far away from here. This was not a place for someone like me. A thief, walking into the Federal Bureau of Investigation. How laughable.

On my way over here, I had to take several different and unethical routes because I sensed someone on my tail. I lost them after a while. Antonio thinks he knows me, but he would never think that'd I'd go here.

Taking a deep breath, I walked into the building and towards the elevators. I just had to get to the elevators and then-

Somehow find a man named Peter.

I needed to have thought this out better.

I entered an elevator and just as the doors were about to close, a woman grabbed them. She entered along side with me. I moved over, leaning in the corner, trying to appear as small as possible. I wore the nicest jeans I had, along with a clean grey shirt. I even took off my beanie. My shoes, however, were mud-splattered and tattered. There were pieces of duct-tape holding the pieces together.

The woman, mocha-skinned and black hair looked at me funny. She carried a briefcase. She wore a good-looking grey suit and a yellow blouse. "Are you looking for someone?" She asked me.

My head started to twitch a little bit and I answered, "Uh, well," My voice was too high and I cleared my throat, trying to lower it. The woman pressed the button she wanted while waiting for me to answer.

After failing to get my voice to normal, I simply nodded. I couldn't lie. Not right now, at least.

"Hmm… Who are you looking for?" She gave me a warm smile, but still I looked down.

"I, uh, need… I need to speak to a man…" I trailed off, and she raised an eyebrow. I finished, "A man named… Peter."

Her eyes widened only slightly and I took a deep breath. "Peter Burke?" She asked, looking at me. I shrugged. I had never found out his last name, only his first. He has a wife named Elizabeth and a dag named Sachmo. I could tell her that, but soemthing told me I should keep my mouth shut about that.

"Tall, blue eyes and blonde hair?"

I looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, he is, actually. Wears a gray suit?" I added, my voice sounding a little too hopeful for my tastes. I was so on edge. I couldn't stop my right hand from twitching and my left hand kept checking the strap of the black backpack I was wearing.

"I know who you're looking for. He's on my floor." She told me, as the elevator stopped. The doors opened and she walked out. She kept a sharp eye on me, and I realized that I recognized her from the last time I visited the FBI building, when I had pickpocketed Peter.

Peter Burke. That was his full name. I briefly wondered how high up he was on the ladder.

I walked out behind her, but didn't move any further. "Um, could, would you point me in the right direction?" I kept looking down, not looking at her eyes. She probably already recognized me.

Perfect.

"Follow me." She said. She walked through glass doors, into an office area. I saw desks on the right side, with bookcases on the left. There some stairs, and then glass offices up above them. The glass allowed me to see into the offices.

In fact, I saw the exact man I was looking for.

Peter Burke's eyes met mine and a frown set in on his face. I swallowed before offering a meek smile. He walked out from his office, where he had been reading some sort of file. He still had it in his hands when he came down to see me and the woman.

"Diana, what is she doing here?" he asked, not harshly, but not kindly either.

The woman, Diana, answered, "I found her in the elevators, says she's looking for you."

That would be my cue. "I need your help." I sad bluntly.

Peter looked at me, eyebrows raised.

Swallowing my fear, the instinct telling me to run away, and never stop. To lie, to tell him that its actually nothing. To just forget about the jewels. I squared off my shoulders and looked at him directly in the eyes. "I saw a man get murdered for this." I took off the backpackand held it out to him. His jaw was slightly opened, before it closed. The room's occupants, ordinary workers paused briefly.

I realized then that I should have probably worked on what I was going to say, before coming here.

"How about we talk about this in my office?" He said, ushering me towards the glass room. I walked ahead of him, and entered the room first. As soon as I entered, he was right behind me and shut the door.

"Never thought you'd see me again, huh?" I said, trying to lighten the mood. "Funny thing, I never thought I'd see you either." I sat down in the chair opposite of the desk. The backpack's strap was still in my hands.

Peter sighed, tossed the file onto his desk, and then sat down in his chair.

"I want full immunity." I blurted out before he could say anything. "To be clear, I didn't really steal these. I simply took them and then haven't had the chance to give them back." I placed the backpack on the desk. It made a small thunk. "Now I have, so you can't press charges." I crossed my arms.

"How about we start from the beginning. Who was murdered? What's in the bag?" Carefully, he scooted the bag closer to him and took a peek.

"I want immunity." I said again.

Slowly, he leaned back in his chair, "Tell me what happened."

"I don't want to go to jail. Immunity."

Peter sighed. He stared at me. I stared right back. I refused to yield to this. After a minute of silence, Peter finally yielded. "Fine, immunity. What happened, who got murdered, and who murdered who?"

"Well, it started out when out in a park…"

* * *

End of chapter!

Reviews:

Meire: Well, it is harder to understand your English, although, I am very happy that you tried, and wrote a review in English. You can write however you want to. Thank you for reviewing! Neal won't come in, sadly. I've got to set it all up first. Kat, has got to go and live with them before Neal comes in. But, I will try and fit it into Chapter 6, or 7. Also, its Kat. Rarely, will she be called Kate, unless by Antonio. Antonio is the only one who calls her Kate. Everyone else will either call her Katherine, or Kat.

Guest: Thank you for reviewing!

Maria: You're welcome for the update, thank you for your review!

chicca01: It's not as soon as I liked, but here's the chapter! Kate will move in maybe next chapter, or chapter 6.

Thank you for reading! Sorry that it took so long for me to update! Please review on how you think I did!

With that out of the way, its time to say-

-GP2 OUT!


	5. Arnold Fredickson

**Chapter 5:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar**

* * *

After explaining all I wanted to Peter, he leaned back in his chair and studied me. "Why should I believe any of this, when I could easily convict you of stealing the jewels." He gestured at the backpack.

I tensed my body. "What other reason would I come here for?" I growled out. "I know where Antonio usually can be found, I just need you to find him before he finds me."

"Why didn't you just rat him out, and then sell the jewels on your own?"

I ran my fingers through my cropped hair. "I could have, but I didn't." I met his eyes, calculating my reaction. "Come on," I said, my temper rising. "Do I honestly seem that good to you? I'm freaking 15, not exactly a seasoned veteran at this sort of thing-"

"Meaning stealing?"

"Look, I pickpocket, I'll admit that. I'll never say that I don't, but I don't go for the big heists, alright? Simple, nothing but me and a target. Stealing jewels from a museum isn't exactly my forte."

"So why did you go for this one? Why did you help him?"

I stood up suddenly, but Peter didn't make a move, only straightened up. "I-I!" I tried saying I don't know, but nothing came out. "I was desperate." I answered quietly. "It's, it's, I don't know how you would describe it!"

All this time, Peter didn't say a word. He kept looking at me, head tilted slightly. My mouth was a little open, but I closed it. Slowly and reluctantly I said, "Most of my life, I've been doing what I do, alright? It's a habit, and I've been on edge lately…" I felt all my bravo deflate, so I lowered myself back into my chair. "I needed something to get my mind off of everything, so I grabbed at whatever chance I had." I glanced up at the FBI agent, "Besides, when Antonio asks you to do something, you find it hard to say no."

"Why choose you then, if he wanted to do something this big. You said it yourself, that you're not into big heists. How would he notice you?" Peter was asking all the right questions. They were just ones I didn't want to answer.

So I didn't. I just bit my lip and stayed silent.

"Katherine-"

"Just call me Kat, please." He raised an eyebrow, but continued. "If you want my help, you need to cooperate."

I let out a breath and looked to the sides, not meeting his eyes. Still looking at the ground, I said, "God sometimes I really hate Feds."

That made a corner of his mouth lift up, but he steeled himself again.

"Same way you noticed me…" I said softly.

After a moment or two, his eyes lit up in understanding. I had pickpocketed Antonio, same way I had with Peter, but this time, Antonio didn't even notice what I had done until much later, where I was far away in a park counting out the money from his wallet. Back then, I didn't return the wallet and just usually threw it in the trash. Right as I was about to toss it in the park trashcan, Antonio's guard showed up and stopped me. Antonio wanted to meet the "little rogue" who stole from him. Instead of immediately disposing of me in some way, he had just let me on my merry way. After I returned the money.

"Alright then. That's it." Peter said, lifting himself out of his chair.

"Wait!" I said, standing up as well. I reached into my pocket, grabbing the piece of paper and then handed it to Peter. "That's all of his hide-outs that I know of, and the names that I've ever heard him say. He's quite suspicious about everything, so be careful. If you can get him today, that'd be great."

"We can't just arrest someone because we get one semi-witness telling us that she thinks he stole something."

"Oh come on! I don't lie, you've got to believe me!"

"Really?"

I blew some hair away from my eyes. "Yes. I don't lie."

"You don't, or you won't?"

"I can't."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because why else would I tell you my real name?"

"Because an FBI agent was asking you to?"

I sighed, "Listen, even if you don't arrest him for this, you can arrest him for whatever you find at one of his hideouts. I happen to know that this," I pointed at the third place on the list, "Is where he usually keeps his stolen items. Get a warrant, or whatever you need, and go there."

Peter looked like he was considering my offer.

"One last question."

I rolled my eyes.

"Why do you want to rat out Antonio?"

"Survival." I said. "Survival of the fittest out there… Besides… I've got people out there that I am rather fond of. I'd like to keep them safe."

Peter nodded solemnly, before opening the door, and calling out to Diana. I didn't hear what he said to her, because I was too busy looking at the file on his desk. I sucked in a breath when I read the name.

"Alright, Kath-" Peter turned around, but the thief wasn't anywhere to be found. She had slipped out the other door in his office, went into the conference room, and was already walking out towards the elevators. He caught a glimpse of her grey shirt right before she entered the elevator.

Sighing, he grabbed the phone, to call security. He couldn't just let her walk away, especially since she might be in danger. Antonio, otherwise known as Arnold Fredickson, had been on their radar for the last two weeks or so. They've suspected him of several felonies, but haven't had any concrete evidence to prove it.

And then here comes Katherine Rider, a 15 year old pickpocketer, who just drops the jewels that were stolen yesterday from on its way to a museum here in New York on his desk, with a story that seemed half-lies, half truth.

Peter opened his mouth to tell Security to pick up Katherine after she got off the elevators and-

He paused, seeing that the file that was on his desk, missing.

The voice on the phone said his name twice before Peter answered. "Uh, yes, um I'm going to have to call you back." He should have left the file somewhere else, or at least put it away before letting Katherine into his office. It was his stupid mistake. He shouldn't even had been looking at that file.

**~!~**

On second thought, stealing a file from the FBI building, right under their noses, probably wasn't the smartest idea.

I stared at the plain brown folder that was lying on my pillow. Very carefully, I sat criss cross on my bed, and moved the file onto my lap. I opened it and started to read.

_Katherine Sydney Rider_

_Age: 35 years old_

_Birthdate: March 17th-_

I didn't get any further. A tear blurred the year of her birthdate and I sniffed. I slowly wiped away the tear and then continued reading.

_Hair Color: Brown_

_Eye Color: Blue_

I immediately touch my face, my own eyes were not blue, they were brown. I had gotten them from my father.

_Height: 5"6_

_Weight: 130 lbs_

I skipped ahead.

_Current Address: 1832 Fal-_

I slammed the file shut. I shoved it under my bed, beneath a pair of shoes that were too small for me. Tears watered up in my eyes, I didn't bother to wipe them away. Instead, I let the tears fall. Slowly, I laid down my head on my pillow, and closed my eyes. Before I even knew it, I was curled up in a ball, silent sobs moving throughout my entire body.

A hand rested on my back. It started to move in small, soothing circles, and I leaned towards the person. The woman simply held me in her arms as I cried, not saying a word, but mearly lending me her shoulder to cry on.

After who knows how long, Mrs. Tate picked up my head from her lap, and started to wipe my cheeks with a handkerchief. She didn't say anything, but when my eyes met hers, she clucked her tongue. "Sometimes the truth hurts, Kat."

I leaned back, my body tired and my eyes red. "Sometimes I hate the truth." I whispered. "Sometimes I want to lie."

Mrs. Tate removed herself from my bed and stood up. "Dinner's downstairs, I do insist that you come and eat something."

Normally, I would resist, say no, or just ignore her. But I decided, that maybe, just maybe, I could behave like a normal orphan would.

Because that's what I was. I was an orphan. A parentless child. I had no father. And I had no mother. "_I do not have a mother_." I said firmly. And so, I didn't have a mom.

* * *

It didn't surprise me when Peter came to the orphanage after that day. What surprised me was that he didn't come alone. Elizabeth came along with him. I saw them approach from the window and I immediately grabbed the file. I hadn't read anymore of it, but I kept it by my side.

Something inside of me refused to read it, to find out where she was, but the other half wanted to find out the truth. I wanted to know why she didn't-

"Kat?" Lucy called out, standing in the doorway. "There's a couple here for you!" Her eyes were wide and I felt the other's around me gasp in shock. They thought that a couple was here to adopt or foster me. How laughable.

I walked downstairs, straightening my shirt and dusting off my gym shorts. My stomach felt a little quirky. When I jumped off the last of the stairs, Franklin was there.

"Are you leaving now too?"

I scoffed, patted his head and moved on. Peter and Elizabeth were talking to Mrs. Tate in the front hallway. I froze when I saw Elizabeth. She looked like she hadn't changed at all. I was taken back to when we first met, and I remember the comfort I felt when she had patched my hands. It felt a bit like… a home.

I discarded that thought immediately, and approached the trio. "Am I needed?" I asked, tilting my head at Mrs. Tate. I tried not to look at Elizabeth or Peter.

I wondered why she was here.

"Special Agent Burke was telling me how you were instructmental in one of his cases." Mrs. Tate gave me an odd look. "Apparently, you helped identify someone that they've been looking for."

So, then. 'Special Agent Burke' didn't tell my care worker about how I had also originally been apart of a con.

I shifted my weight, wondering how I could add to the conversation. "You said there was a couple here to see me?" I inquired, still not looking at the Burkes.

"Well, Katherine, after much, much thought,"

This couldn't go anywhere good. I crossed my fingers and hoped that I wasn't going to get arrested. I looked up at Peter while he continued.

"The White Collar unit decided that while we had gotten our main guy, we didn't get every single one of his partners. So until it has been deemed safe, we would like to move you to a different location."

All the air left my body. I was beginning to get an idea on why Elizabeth was there. I shoved down that feeling of hope, and tried to breathe easy. "What different location?" I asked.

That's where Elizabeth chimed in, "At our house."

I replied back instantly, "Lies." I took a step back. "Are you actually serious?" My voice was weak. "Why the hell-"

"Katherine!" Mrs. Tate tsk-ed me. "Show some respect, please."

My eyes met Peter's. "You're not lying, are you?"

He shook his head. "No," He began. "Arnold has been apprehended, and so have most of his lackeys. But a couple are still out there, and while we're not sure that they know about you, we don't want to take any chances."

"So why your house then?" I asked, sounding a little bit angry.

"There was a lot of debate about that-" Elizabeth cut him off. She smiled at me, and I felt a little part of me smaile back, despite my stony exterior not changing.

"How about you go and pack up all your things?" She suggested. "We can go home and you can help me with dinner! Since last time, you couldn't stay long."

My cheeks grew red, and I looked down, ashamed. Meekly, I nodded and hurried back up the stairs. If it had been anyone but Elizabeth.

"You're actually leaving?"

I was faced by an older kid of the orphanage. Sam, his name was. "You're actually doing this? Going with that cop?" He scoffed, looking down at me, despite me being taller than him. "I can't wait until they shove you back here. They won't keep you, you know? And how exactly did you 'identify' a criminal? I knew you were a thief, but I didn't realize that you were a-"

"Shut it Sam. Before I shut it for you." I growled.

He didn't take a step back, nor get out of my way. "'Until deemed safe', right? How funny! I bet you last a week, before getting kicked out."

He suddenly stopped talking when I punched his stomach. Shaking out my fist, trying not to wince, I said, "I've always wanted to do that."

He gaped at me and I moved on past him. I grabbed an old canvas bag and started to stuff my things into it. There wasn't much I was going to keep. I filled it with all of my clothes, my other pair of shoes, and a couple of trinkets. After a small debate, I slipped the file into the canvas bag as well. I put on my jacket, despite it not being that chilly, and slipped on my shoes.

It hit me as I left the room, that I was leaving. For a while, anyway. I waved goodbye to Lucy and Franklin and the others, pausing briefly to give hugs. I didn't answer their questions, but kept going on until I left them behind.

I didn't know what to think right now. My heart was racing, wanting to find out more about this possible life I was going to get a glimpse of. My body was nervous, shaking and I felt my eyes tearing up. My mind, it was going crazy, calculating all the things that could go wrong, how long I was going to stay, etc.

I had no idea on what could happen.

I was actually leaving this place. The place that Kaiden and Suzy and I had been dreaming of leaving behind since as long as I could remember. I was leaving.

The question is though, when would I come back?

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER**

**Reviews:**

**chicca01: As you can see, I did not make you wait long until the next update. I jumped right into writing the next chapter. It's nice and long for you fans as well. Thanks for your review!**

**Man, I read the most amazing White Collar Story that pushed me to update this so soon. I love WC. And Neal. Anyway, please review! The story is called "Jade", by CoolCoke. I think that's the author's name anyway. I might be wrong.**

**With that out of the way, its time to say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	6. SPECIAL AGENT Peter Burke

**Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar**

**Alright, the next chapter has Neal in it. Well… It has the mentioning of Neal in it. Actually, this chapter has that too. But Neal Caffrey coming, I promise! (Meire)**

* * *

The ride to the Burke household was rather tense. I sat in the backseat, absentmindedly stroking the soft seat beside me.

"So, Kat," Elizabeth said, to break the silence. "Do you like to read?"

My head came up and I shrugged. I saw Peter look back at me in the review mirror, his eyes narrowed.

"Really?" She said, eyebrow raised. "Did they have a lot of books at the orphanage?" I felt a slight change in her tone and I immediately sat straighter. I answered this time, saying, "Reading's not really my forte."

"Well, what do you like to do?" Elizabeth asked, innocently. Well, slightly innocent.

I blushed. I noticed Peter perk up a little.

"Well, you know, stealing, putting myself in danger, only what all the other teenagers I know do." I was going for sarcasm, but towards the end, my voice went higher and I glanced to the side.

Everyone was silent. I saw the corner of Peter's mouth turn upwards, and I felt mine do the same. Elizabeth looked a bit surprised, but smiling just the same.

"Allegedly." I burst out. "Allegedly." I repeated a bit quieter this time. My voice cracked when I said it, so I winced. It was just another very good reason why I don't lie. I was terrible at it.

"Of course." Peter said. "Allegedly." Awkward silence filled the car. I noticed that we were in the same neighborhood when I was at their house last time.

"So how long will I stay here?" I asked slowly. We had just pulled into the driveway.

Peter answered me after he got out of the car. "Depends."

Elizabeth and I also got out, and I shouldered my bag on my right side. "Depends on what?"

Peter smirked at me as he walked towards the door. "If my wallet feels lighter or not."

* * *

**~!~**

"Do you like it?"

I stood in the middle of a plain bedroom. The sheets on the bed were blue, the walls an off shade of white, a desk lining beside the window, which surprisingly had a window seat. I touched it gently, feeling the fabric of the seat beneath my fingertips. I always wanted a window seat.

I turned back to look at Elizabeth and spotted Peter in the background. "I…" I trailed off, looking around the room. With an uncharacteristically warm smile, I finished, "It's wonderful, thank you."

Elizabeth returned my meager smile warmly and told me to just settle in, wash up and then come down to help with dinner. After she left, Peter came in. I sat on the window seat, bouncing a little.

Before Peter opened his mouth to saw anything, I whispered, "I don't know why you did it, but thank you." To my mortification, my throat was starting to close up a tiny bit. I swallowed and quickly looked away, fearing that the tingling behind my nose might lead to crying-a path I did not want to take.

Peter leaned on the door-frame and said, "You understand this, though, right? You make a mistake, you steal something, or you lie-"

"Unlikely, but continue." I muttered under my breath.

Peter continued, "-you do anything, anything at all, that's illegal, and this deal is off. You get sent back to the orphanage."

"Not to juvi?" I asked, a hint of a joking tone.

"That's only if you actually get to pull anything off. Because believe me, you try to pull one over on me, on El, on the FBI, or anyone, and I will catch you in the act, red-handed. I've played this game much longer than you, I know the rules."

"Maybe its time the rules were revised." I snapped back. There wasn't much anger in my voice, just tenseness.

Peter didn't say anything.

I sighed and pushed my bangs from my eyes. "'M sorry."

He mhmm-ed, then left-leaving the door opened, I noticed.

I didn't close it, but waited ten seconds after he left. I slowly stood up and rummaged through my bag. Grabbing what I needed, I placed it on the window seat. I slowly put away my few clothes in the dresser and pulled out the file. Quietly and quickly, I hid the file behind the dresser, close to the floor. After taking one long look at the room, I left, heading downstairs towards the kitchen.

Peter moved out from the doorway of his bedroom and into the guest bedroom, that was doubling as Kat's new bedroom. He noticed nothing new about the surroundings, other than that she had put away a couple of things. One thing caught his eyes though. A small, raggedy stuffed cat on the window seat. He smiled and then shook it off. Peter gently closed the door; then made his way down stairs.

* * *

**~!~**

Dinner was awkward, to say the least. Elizabeth asked me questions from time to time and after the first three or so I began to relax. I asked her to call me Kat, instead of Kate or Katherine. I was thinking about names when I realized something. Peter had just finished his piece of casserole when I asked him, "Um… Special Agent Peter Burke, that's your full title, right?"

He nodded.

My jaw dropped a little, but I continued, "You wouldn't the same one who caught Neal Caffrey, then, would you?! I had remembered about three years back hearing about how a great art thief and forger had been caught.

Neal Caffrey was a pro. A perfect con-man.

Who had been caught.

"How'd you hear of that?" Peter asked me.

I scoffed, then laughed. "You kidding me? Neal Caffrey's almost a legend! He was the best of the best, that is, until he got caught." I took a bite of the casserole and swallowed. "By you." I let out a snort, "To think. I pick-pocketed the same man who caught Neal Caffrey." I smiled.

"But you were also caught." Peter pointed out.

"True, but you didn't catch me until I returned the wallet back to you."

Peter was silent for a moment.

"Excuse me, put what back?" Elizabeth asked.

I had taken my last bite of casserole and quickly swallowed. I reluctantly answered her, "I don't have a use for the license or credit cards, only the cash." I smirked, "Non-traceable items, you understand."

Peter's eyes lit up.

My voice slightly higher, I shifted my eyes to the side and said, "Not that I would know from experience, right?"

"Right." Peter repeated, a smug smile on his face.

"Besides, it would be a waste to throw it away, so I, allegedly, return the wallets. Allegedly." I really needed to stop talking, otherwise I would just keep blabbing all my secrets away.

I decided to keep my answers to a minimum during dinner.

"Where do you go to school?" Elizabeth asked me, while I was helping wipe down the table and put away the leftovers.

"A teacher would come to the orphanage and teach us there during the week." I answered. "It's like being homeschooled, in a way."

I saw Elizabeth nod and then bit her lip briefly before a thoughtful look came on her face. "What would you think of going to a real school?"

Peter and I's head shot up. Eye wide, I looked at her like she was crazy. "Um, what?"

"Yes, what?" Peter echoed.

Elizabeth gave us a smile and a laugh. "No need to look so scared, it was just a suggestion."

I bit my lip and raised an eyebrow. Going to an actual school? Granted, it was just about winter break. School had just ended. And I seriously doubted that I would stay there for that long, but still...

"It's just Winter Break." I mumbled quietly. I had a month of free time before 'school' would begin. But… What if I was staying here during school? Could I transfer to a real-

I almost let out a bitter laugh. Me, going to an actual school? Having a real-life education? I barely passed Algebra ½, I couldn't even comprehend Biology.

But there was a small part of me that was excited at the thought of actual lockers, terrible cafeteria food and the thought of a classroom gave me shivers. And not the bad kind.

Plus, the kind of trouble I could get into in a _real_ school.

* * *

**On to reviews!**

**CoolCoke: Aw, thanks! I love your story as well, its wicked! :)**

**chicca01: Thank you! My favorite moments that I can't wait to write are between Peter and Kat. Also, between her and Neal. And her and another character. That I think everyone is gonna love. Hopefully.**

**Sorry its so short! I just needed to get it out and move on, in a way, it was difficult to write, if you can tell. But, next chapter will include some of the first episode. I think. Hopefully. **

**Please, review! **

**With that out of the way, its time to say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	7. Satchmo

**Chapter 7**

**I don't own White Collar.**

**Yet.**

* * *

"Where are you going?"

It's been three days. Three long days.

Where _was_ I going?

I turned around slowly, my hand still by the doorknob. I hadn't actually left the house, unless you count the time I've had to empty out the garbage. Peter or Elizabeth still watched me from the window while I carried out the bag.

Peter stared me down, he had gotten off work early so he had been home for a while. I shifted my eyes to the side and tried answering him. "I was going to…"

"She was going to walk Satchmo." Elizabeth filled in. She popped up beside Peter, smiling and stroking his shoulder, somehow calming him down. Satchmo, the dog in question, was laying down by the couch; his ears had perked up at the mention of his name.

"Right?" Elizabeth turned to me, smiling. She was trying to do me a favor; knowing, mysteriously, that I was trying to get out of the house to breathe some free air.

Sadly, my one weakness: lying. A thief who wouldn't lie, who _couldn't _lie. Not for lack of trying though. Although I'm not fond of spinning tales, sometimes I do try. For the little things.

Like this.

I looked anywhere but them and nodded. No eye contact=lying. Crap.

I looked into Peter's eyes, mistrusting and-

"Alright."

"Wait, what." I murmured. Louder, I said, "Did you say alright?"

Peter sighed. "Don't go too far, and remember what I said." He gave me a stern glare to enforce what he told me a couple of days ago about breaking the rules. He had preceded to give me a similar speech yesterday.

"Uh-" I began, but stopped. I grabbed the blue leash that was hanging on the coat-rack and whistled to Satchmo. The big yellow lab came trotting towards me and I clipped on his leash.

"I'll see you!" I called out as Satchmo pulled me out the door and onto the streets.

Satchmo was pulling on the leash and so I decided to let him steer me. I didn't trust myself.

Eventually, we were a little bit deeper into the city, venturing where I knew the names of the streets and the buildings. I stopped Satchmo from turning right and continued straight. I suddenly knew where I was going.

Before I realized it, my feet led to the front of the orphanage. The cracked cement stairs were still dusty, the windows in need of Windex, but it felt… It felt a bit more like home than the Burke's house, despite the warmth of the house and the delicious food.

My fingers trailed the edge of the doorknob, and I hesitated in opening the door. A whine caught my attention and Satchmo pulled on the leash. As if I had been touching a hot stove, I yanked my hand away from the door handle and turned my back.

I left without looking back.

**~!~**

I continued to wander about aimlessly, and before I knew it, the sun was setting. Although visiting the orphanage had but me in a somewhat nostalgic mood, my chest felt a little bit lighter than it had when I left. Currently I was sitting on a park bench with Satchmo sitting at my feet, his tail wagging at every passing person.

It occurred to me that Peter was furious. He was probably looking for me. I studied the tracking chip that I found in my shoes. He must have put it there, just in case I run off.

_I haven't run off though,_ I tell myself over and over and over. Because I haven't._ I'm not running away._

"I'm not running away from this." I said quietly to myself. I clenched my fists and the tightening in my chest increased.

I refused to be scared. I didn't want to be. Taking a deep breath, wondered briefly what Kaiden was doing.

A hand suddenly clamped down on my shoulder and I jumped up, jerking away from the contact. I fell off the bench letting out a squeal that I hid as a grunt. My butt landed harshly on the ground and I accidently let go of the leash.

When I looked to see who surprised me, It was Peter. His face was stern with a hint of amusement at scaring me.

"I'm sorry." I blurted out before he said anything. "I mean," I started again, "I kinda lost track of time. And space." My cheeks flushed. "I mean, I kinda got lost."

Peter asked me, eyebrows raised, "You 'kinda' got lost?"

"I wasn't running away." I said stubbornly. "If I was going to run away, I would have thrown away the tracker." I threw the chip at Peter and he caught it.

"Where did you find this one?" He asked, tucking it into his pocket.

"In my shoes." I answered. I paused, thinking his words over. "Wait, you mean there's more than one?" My answer was a smirk, and I rolled my eyes. "I wasn't running off though." I repeated quietly.

Peter sighed. He grabbed the leash, luckily Satchmo had stayed faithfully by our side, and offered me his other hand.

I hesitated for a moment. My hand was semi-stretched out to grab Peter's. Slowly, I reached the rest of the way, and grabbed his hand.

**~!~**

Two weeks had passed since I had taken 'the walk' as Elizabeth had humorously called it. Winter Break was ending soon, plus Christmas was coming up.

I bit my lip as I studied the problem set out before me. Carefully, fully knowing the risks, I reached out my hand pulled on the wooden block. Unfortunately, my luck failed me, and the tower of crooked wooden blocks came tumbling down.

"Damn!" I swore quietly.

Elizabeth rapped the back of my head with her knuckles. "No swearing." She reminded me. I blushed. "Sorry." I muttered back to her.

Elizabeth smiled at me and then stood up from her seat. "I guess I win." She said victoriously. "Loser has to clean up and put the board back."

I was tempted to roll my eyes, but decided that Elizabeth deserved more respect than that. I 'humbly' accepted my loss and cleaned up the mess.

As I put the game back up in the closet, I heard the front door open and slam shut.

"I'm home!" Peter called out. I quickly escaped to my room. I closed the door (but no lock, as they didn't trust me fully yet), and then laid back on my bed. I stared up at the white popcorn ceiling, wishing that I could escape again.

Sometimes it felt like I was on house arrest. I was stuck all day inside, not allowed to go outside. But Elizabeth and Peter couldn't be home all the time to keep an eye on me.

Peter knew that I don't like breaking promises, and made me swear not to leave the house without permission after he drove me home from 'the walk'. Now I was stuck inside.

My thoughts were whirled back to one of the things I hated the most. School. I wondered if I would get to go back soon, or if what Elizabeth had mentioned about going to a real school could actually come true.

"Kat!" Elizabeth called for me. I poked my head out of my door. "Yeah?" I called back.

"Come help with dinner please!"

I left my room with a small smile on my face.

* * *

**The End!**

**Apologies for the super long wait, School just ended though, so I'll have some free time! Woo! I know I keep saying Neal's going to show up, but honestly I have to first set that up. Which I think will be in the next chapter. I think. But speaking honestly here, I didn't really like the last chapter. I'm going to try and do better. I know I can.  
**

**Thank you reviewers! I really appreciate it. Thank you! People want me to continue and they say they love Kat. **

**Please review, and with that out of the way, it's time to say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	8. Kaiden

**Chapter 8:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar.**

* * *

"Well this is odd."

"You can say that again."

I stared at the familiar face in front of me. I was not expecting anything like this for the first day of school. Especially him.

"Kaiden?"

Let's rewind here.

* * *

A month ago, I was informed by Elizabeth and Peter that I would be enrolled in the Graceland South High School when it opened the next year. I was shocked, to say the least. I knew that I was staying with the Burkes for 'security and safety' reasons, but for so long that I was actually going to go to a real school? I was home schooled in the foster home, we all were. There would be a couple of different tutors that would come in each week and teach us a new lesson.

Kaiden and I would try to skip as many as possible.

After Christmas and New Year's passed, both uneventful, except for when I received a gift from the Burkes. It was a new hat, a maroon baseball cap with a star on the top of it. Needless to say that I was speechless. It had made me feel a little bad that I hadn't gotten them anything.

The first day of school was horrific, in my sense. I was not pleased, not at all. The kids either ignored me, or stared at me. Occasionally one or two would say hi in the halls but that was it.

I also had a bad case of twitchy hands. I felt edgy being in a new place and I honestly just wanted to get out.

But, school wasn't that bad until lunch, where I found a very familiar face waiting in front of me in the lunch line.

~!~

"Kaiden?" I said disbelievingly. My best friend was standing in front of me, mouth open just like mine in shock. His hair had grown a little bit longer and he had grown an inch or two, but otherwise he was still Kaiden.

"Kat?!" He asked, just as surprised as me.

A smile slowly grew on my face, "I can't believe it!" I exclaimed. I was so happy to meet him again I immediately gave him a hug. Which was unusual for us.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" He asked, after returning the hug. He grabbed my shoulders and stared into my face. "Did you get adopted?!"

I shook my head, "Nah man, just into trouble, that's it."

He let go of my shoulders and ordered me to stay by his side, once we sat down we would talk. I smirked at him.

Once we both got out lunches, we grabbed a table quickly and began to talk. I explained to him about what happened but once I got to the shooting he stopped me.

"You fu-"

"Kaiden please." A feminine voice said, "No swearing near the new kid." A girl with long red hair sat next to Kaiden. "You must be the new kid, Katie, right? I'm SJ."

"Kat." I corrected. "Call me Kat." I turned to Kaiden. "You already replaced us?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kaiden immediately raised both of his hands in a surrendering manner, "What? God no, you idiot!" He rolled his eyes when I grinned. "SJ, this is Kat, my partner in crime back at the foster home. Kat, this is SJ."

I cocked my head to the side and studied SJ. She did the same to me.

"Alright, I'll vet her later." I said nonchalantly. "Back to the story." I ignored the fact that SJ was listening eagerly to my story as I finished.

Kaiden stared at me. "You went into the FBI building?! Alone? Why didn't you come and get me for back up, you ass! Or what about Suz?"

"Oh yeah, she got adopted by the way. Single mom apparently. Had a nice tattoo of a skull though." I added.

Kaiden's mouth dropped.

"I hate you sometimes." He said in shock. "Also, so are the Burkes fostering you or…? He trailed off.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Truth be told, I'm not really sure myself. I just know that for right now, I live in their house. It's supposed to just be for protection against Antonio's men."

Kaiden knew that while I was not lying, I was leaving something out.

"Hey," He said, pointing a finger at me. "Don't you dare leave anything out. That counts as lying and you know it!"

I scowled then sighed. "I think, that maybe, I might be staying at their place for a while."

SJ finally made her move, "Wait, you're saying that you and Kaiden used to pickpocket people and after he got adopted you get involved in a murder for some jewels or something and then you get to live with an FBI agent and his wife?"

I nodded.

She sat back in her chair. "You guys, are insane." She picked up her lunch tray. "Well, as much fun as this was, and it was, trust me, the others are probably sending out a search team for me. I'll see y'all later." She stood up and left, heading for another table in the cafeteria.

"You're going to have to explain that, you know." I told Kaiden. "Also, remember Neal Caffrey?"

He looked at me oddly, "Neal Caffrey? The Neal Caffrey? What about him?"

"Peter was the one who caught him."

Kaiden groaned. "You suck, you know that? You really suck at this lay low thing."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Eh, what can you do about it? It's fate, sometimes you just have to accept it."

* * *

Fate. Sometimes you do have to accept it. Doesn't mean you have to like it.

I heard Elizabeth and Peter stop talking. It was late at night and after I heard Elizabeth walk down the stairs I got up and followed. I overheard bits and pieces from their conversation, and from what I could make out, Neal Caffrey had, one: escaped from the super-max prison he was in, and two: had gotten caught again.

All for some girl?

My respect for him had gone down just a little.

I realized that Peter and Elizabeth had stopped talking that it was my cue to go back upstairs but just as I was turning around to head back, I heard Peter call out, "Are you there Kat?"

I froze and then rushed up the stairs trying to make as little noise as possible. I don't think that the fact that I accidently slammed my door helped any, but no one came in as I laid in bed,my heart pounding.

Neal had escaped and now he was trying to get some deal with Peter, but what deal was it? Granted, I had my own problems to deal with, but I couldn't help but be curious.

~!~

It was the morning after my eavesdropping session. "Um," I began as I was getting out my food for breakfast. Peter was enjoying a cup or coffee and reading a newspaper.

He looked up at me when I began to speak.

"Did he really escape?" I asked quickly, looking at Peter.

Peter looked half amused and half angry. After a moment or two he answer me, "Yes. Yes he did."

I bit the inside of my cheek. I poured out my cereal and sat down to eat it. "Are you going to, uh," I froze for a second when Peter put down the newspaper and stared at me. I swallowed, "I mean, he wants to make a deal, right? Are you going to…"

Peter interrupted me, "Am I going to let him back out to help me catch the Dutchman?"

I nodded, letting my eagerness show.

Peter sighed. "Don't you have a bus to catch?"

I checked the time and was very unpleasantly surprised to find to that I had five minutes to get to the bus before it left without me.

"Crap!" I shouted, jumping up and grabbing my bowl. I slammed my uneaten cereal into the sink and turned to Peter. "This isn't over." I said before running out the front door.

It barely accured to me that a month ago, I would have gotten thrown into juvi even stepping out of the house without Peter's permission.

* * *

**THE END**

**THERE. I FREAKING GOT IT. I UPLOADED. SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. AND THANK YOU FOR THE AWESOME REVIEWS. Also, saw that Peter has BROWN eyes, not blue. My bad. Sorry.**

**Please review. and with that out of the way, it's time to say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	9. Neal Caffrey

**Chapter 9:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar.**

* * *

I waited at the table while Elizabeth phoned Peter. There were three plates on the table, each with food on them. Peter should be home now, Elizabeth told me.

I listened in on their phone conversation. I knew that Peter had made the deal with Neal, I just knew it. He hadn't mentioned anything around me though, and I was very, very curious to what the oh so great convicted art thief was doing running around with the FBI.

Elizabeth began to pour a glass of wine as she talked to Peter. "You lost track of time, it happens." She walked into the dining room, gave me a quick nod and a smile and continued to say, "Did you forget who you married? I am smarter than that… So how's Neal doing?"

I immediately perked up and tried to listen to what Peter was saying.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was calling Satchmo up to the table. I bit my lip, trying not to laugh while the big white lab jumped up on the table, and started to eat Peter's food.

Elizabeth said, "Oh, a woman who can resist his charms. Bet that's taking some getting use to. Is he helping?"

I managed to catch Peter saying "Onto something here…"

"So I won't wait up." She listened to Peter's response. "I know."

The phone call ended and she shot me a look. I squirmed in my seat. "So…" I said, "What did he say?"

Elizabeth was interrupted as Satchmo munched noisely on his food. She turned to him, "Chew your food. You sound like your father."

I grinned and we both laughed.

* * *

It was the weekend, but still I awoke early enough to leave me a little bit grumpy. As I got up from bed I shivered, there was a chill in the air. Quickly, I threw a sweater over my pajama top and then shuffled downstairs to get something to eat.

I yawned as I walked down the stairs, stretching my arms above my head.

"Good morning Elizabeth." I greeted. I gave a little tired wave to her in the living room, as I walked past and into the kitchen.

I froze.

Slowly, I backed up until I was in the doorway of the living room. Elizabeth wasn't alone, she was talking to a man. A very handsome, good looking man with dark hair and bright blue eyes.

"Um, hello." I said, eyes wide and a little stunned.

The man looked a little surprised too, but covered it up very cleanly. He said to me, "Good morning. I don't believe we know each other. I'm Neal."

Elizabeth cut in there, "Neal, this is Kat, she's"

I made a rather poor choice in introducing myself here. "I'm the foster kid."

Needless to say he was shocked.

I continued to speak, "Are you Neal Caffrey, as in, the, um_ art thief_ Neal Caffrey?"

He grinned, flashing me a charismatic smile. "Alleged, art thief."

"Also a convicted felon." I added. I looked at Elizabeth. "Why is he here," I turned to Neal, "Why are you here? Are you trying to escape or something? Are you meeting Peter here?"

Alas, before he could say anything,we were interrupted by Peter rushing down the stairs saying, "El, I've got to go Neal's outside his radius." He trailed off as he saw the three of us in the living room.

Neal looked a little like a hid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I, on the other hand, was still staring at him, wondering why the hell he was here.

"Caffrey's with me." Peter said, anger growing in his eyes. I knew that whatever was going to happen, it wouldn't be good. Peter got off the phone and stormed into the living room.

Elizabeth smiled at him, "Good morning honey." While Neal greeted him with, "Peter."

"You're on my couch." Peter said softly.

"I came to talk to you." Neal answered calmly. He turned to Elizabeth, "And, frankly, Peter, I have to say I am surprised you have such an amazing wife." He turned to me, "And a very nice foster kid. I didn't know you and Elizabeth wanted kids."

"Oh they don't, I'm just part job and part charity." I said nonchalantly.

"Kat." Peter started, voice sounding tense.

"Well it is true," I muttered.

Peter turned back to Neal. "Get off my couch."

"Honey, we're just chatting." Elizabeth told him.

"Chatting? How did you even get here?"

Neal answered simply. "Cab."

I snorted at his answer, bring his attention to me. I froze and looked anyway but at him. The Neal Caffrey. In this house. In front of me.

"You activated your tracker!" Peter accused Neal. "You're in my house, on my couch, with my wife."

At that moment, Satchmo decided it was time to make an appearance, and walked up to Neal. Neal immediately neeled down to pet the big lab and Peter rolled his eyes. "And now you're petting my dog."

"Did you really put Elizabeth under survellance before you asked her out?"

That got my attention. I perked up and looked at Peter. Did he actually do that. It was, well, kind of creepy. And a little bit sweet.

But Neal's conversation was not helping his case. Peter turned to look at him with a glint in his eye.

"Peter." Neal said, tone playful. "I underestimated you."

"You told him." Peter mumbled.

Elizabeth explained, "Oh, he said he wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing anyone. Honey I think it's cute!"

Neal followed up with, "I think it's adorable."

Peter said, "I'm putting you back into prison."

I then asked a question that was one my mind, "Why are you here?!"

Neal answered my question, "I know who the Dutchmen is."

"Enlighten me."

"Curtis Hagen." Neal answered. "He's an art restorer, one of the best in the world. But his own work never took off. He's particularly good at Goya restorations. That's what this is, Peter, the bond is him showing off."

"Interesting theory, how do you prove it?" Peter asked.

"He signed it."

"I think we might have noticed a signature tucked in the corner."

Elizabeth said, "Show him."

There was a fancy looking piece of paper on the coffee table. Obviously they had been looking at it before I arrived.

Peter stepped closer and sat down on the couch. I walked closer and sat down on the ground close by the coffee table. This was the first time something exciting had happened. I wanted to know more.

"Look at the peasant's pants. What do you see? It's the initials C and H."

Peter said disbelievingly while getting a closer look, "I don't know, that's a stretch."

"This bond is a masterpiece." said Neal. "I've done something this good, I would've signed it. The forgeries you caught me on, I signed them."

Well that was stupid.

"Where?" Peter inquired.

"Look at the bank's seal under polverized light sometime." Neal added.

I looked up at Neal and said, "Well that was stupid, why would you tell him that?"

All of the adults looked down at me, sitting on the floor in front of them. I went on, "Isn't that a rule or something? You know, never tell anyone anything? Especially the feds!" I stood up, running fingers through my messy bedhead. "Not a smart move, Caffrey. Although, I suppose since you already have a collar on, that there's not much they can do to you. Unless you count prison." I added. I left both of them and headed back upstairs. I immediately sat down on the top of the stairs where they couldn't see me and eavesdropped.

Neal left first, but not before casting me a glance at the top of the stairwell. I stared back at him.

He gave me another handsome smile and to my, well, mortification, I blushed. I stood up and scrambled back upstairs.

I dove back onto my bed and pulled the covers over my head.

* * *

_…_

_"Open them."_

_…_

_…_

_"Cheesy?"_

_"It's a little cheesy. But it's sweet."_

_…_

_"We have a week and two planet tickets. And a seized villa in Sarteneja."_

_…_

_"Just tell me it's nice."_

_"It's nice."_

_…_

_"What about Kat?"_

_… "I knew I forgot something."_

_"Peter, could we leave her on her own there?"_

_"... I mean, what's wrong with sending her back to the foster home, just for a week?"_

_"We can't do that. What if we found a babysitter?"_

_"Really, a babysitter for her? I don't know El…"_

_"She could always stay with someone."_

_"Like who-and don't, don't say Neal."_

_"Ha, honey, please. What about someone at the office?"_

_"I might be able to have Jones or Diana check up on her while we're gone."_

_"That would work, right?"_

_"Yeah, El, that would work."_

_~!~_

_…_

_…_

_"Coffee?"_

_"Yeah, Italian Roast?"_

_…_

_…_

_"Going on vacation."_

_"Yeah, we'll only be gone a week."_

_"What about the kid, Kat?"_

_"I'm reluctant to leave her on her own, but I don't really see another way. I'll ask Diana and Jones to check up on her and eep an eye out."_

_"Why so reluctant?"_

_"You don't know the whole story Neal. She's a bit of a trouble maker."_

_"All the best ones are."_

_"She's involved with a case. There's still some people, well, one person in general, out there that might want her, and until we catch them, she needed more protection than what the foster home could give."_

_"How long has she been with you and El?"_

_"A month and a half, I think, why?"_

_"Nothing, that's just a long while. Did she give you anymore trouble?"_

_"A little outburst now and then. I really-..."_

_"Go on."_

_"Sometimes there are moments when she looks, I don't know, happy. And then she'll revert right back into her shell."_

_…_

_…_

_"What'd they say?"_

_"Figure if we didn't give you one of these you'd end up making one yourself."_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_"You'll be here when I get back?"_

_"Where else would I go?"_

_"See ya Neal."_

_"You know she could always stay here. I'm sure she'd get along with June."_

_"Ha! You and Kat under the same roof? No thank you, I don't want you corrupting her any further. She already thinks highly of you."_

_"Really?"_

_"Oh yeah, _especially_ since you got caught."_

_…_

_…_

* * *

**THE END~!**

**So, I updated again so soon! I have Netflix on my laptop, and so I can watch WC and write at the same time! What do you think of this chapter? Neal finally came into play, woo woo! Also, Kat is so going to sneak out of the house.**

**Please review!**

**With that out of the way, it's time to say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	10. James

**Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar. **

**Sorry for the wait, there's a bit more language in this chapter.  
**

**Also, I edited this one after I posted it. So re-read it again folks! Thanks.**

* * *

"I'm not throwing a party, Kaiden."

"It'll be fun, c'mon!"

"I've got two FBI agents checking on me every other friggin hour, Kaiden, plus Peter probably put in cameras on all the doors, and alarms for the windows. I'm not gonna throw a party. I can't even sneak out."

"Live a little."

"God, shut up, Kaiden!" I snapped, being pushed over the edge. Kaiden had been nagging me to 'let loose' and 'have some fun'. Right now, he was trying to convince me that getting into trouble when Peter and Elizabeth were gone is exactly what I need.

Kaiden finally laid back into his seat. He moped slightly, pushing around the mashed potatoes on his plate. The only time we ever got to talk was during lunch, since we were in different classes. SJ, however, his-_ahem new_-friend was in my classes. All of them.

In fact, she was at our lunch table as well, including some other kids, whose names I haven't bothered to ask. While I was perfectly comfortable with the other kids at the foster home, I didn't really want to talk with other people at my school.

"What about the second story windows? Surely they didn't put any on those." SJ suggested, after taking a bite of a sandwich. Her mouth full, she added, "You could always climb out or something."

Kaiden and I shared a look. "Man, you sure do pick 'em, don'tcha?" I asked.

Kaiden, whom I rarely seen blush, scowled at me, his face slightly red. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and glanced at SJ. Her reaction was the same as Kaiden's.

I sighed and scooted back, "That's not a bad idea; I'll definitely take it into consideration." I stood up, leaving my tray behind. I needed to get my books and-

_Crash!_

Someone ran into me, spilling the opened drink they had in their hand, spilling it all over me and themselves. I let out a grunt as we fell to the floor.

"What the hell man?!" I growled, my anger rising. "Watch where you're going!" I shoved the person who was on top of me off and stood up, dusting myself up. My shirt, _my white shirt,_ was stained with what smelled like Coke. Luckily, there was a design of some skull on the front, so it wasn't immediately showing skin, but I couldn't be allowed to wear it for the rest of school.

I looked down at them-_him_-and rolled my eyes. A teenage boy with dark unruly hair and brown eyes was staring at me with the most shocked expression I've ever seen on someone.

"Uh, hello? You okay?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

The boy quickly stood up, revealing his true height, which was _barely _an inch above my own. "Sorry!" He muttered.

"Just don't run next time, stupid." I said roughly, picking up my tray and maneuvering around the spilled beverage on the floor. I left the boy behind me.

"Wait!" He called out, running after me.

_Why me?_ I turned around, trying to express how much I didn't want to interact. "What?" I asked.

"My name's James." He introduced. He had a big smile on his face. "Sorry about that, I was just in a hurry and-"

"Didn't see me?" I finished. "Okay. I got it. Now leave." I walked away, leaving him behind again.

"Wait, please!" He pleaded. I stopped, groaned and turned back walking close to him. "What?!" I snapped. I would need to get my gym uniform shirt and change quickly, before I could attract any more attention. I already could feel some people looking at me, and I was currently _not_ in the mood to be showing the color bra I was wearing any more than I already had.

James stared at me for a moment, apparently at a loss for words. I could tell by the way he struggled for words, looking around. Just as I was losing patience and ready to leave, he glanced down at my shirt and blurted out, "Nice boobs. What are you, an A?"

I snapped.

I pulled back my fists and punched him right in the face. I heard something crack and he fell over, clutching his nose. Already, blood was dripping down on his face.

I cocked my hip out, placing on hand on my hip and snarled, "Want some more, punk?" I held up a fist threateningly. I heard laughter everywhere in the lunchroom. Kaiden's was the loudest.

Even through a bloody nose, he grinned at me, "Sorry sweet cheeks," He said, sitting up. "How 'bout I make that mistake up with a movie?" Scratch that. THis guy was a _flirt._

_He so had this coming_, I told myself.

I leaned down over him, and offered him my hand. James smiled, blood dripping down from his nose. It briefly crossed my mind that I had probably dislocated it or something. Maybe it was bruised. It wouldn't be the only injury he would have.

My foot shot out, connecting with his groin. James fell back again, letting out a little squeak. I heard someone shout to get the nurse as I stood back up. I winced, the pain in my knuckles coming in waves. I had forgotten how much punching people _hurts._

A hand gripped my shoulder and I looked up into the face of the teacher on lunch duty. He had a disapproving look on his face; his glasses held angry eyes and his mouth set in a frown.

I glanced back at James. Our eyes connected and I thought to myself-_worth it-_but he winked at as I was being hauled towards the principle office, the teacher muttering about getting another shirt for me to wear, the only thing I could think was:

_Still totally worth it._

* * *

The principle, Mrs. Hannigan, was staring at both of us, eyes flickering back and forth every few seconds. "Well." She began, placing both hands on the table. "After asking a few students, and both of you, I've decided _not _to call either of your parents-" I breathed easy, letting out a sigh of relief. "-However, you both will receive detention for two weeks, starting the start of next month."

My eyebrows furrowed. The start of next month was a couple of days after Elizabeth and Peter got back. Did she know that-

"Normally, I would not hesitate to start the detentions right away, but since... the circumstances, I will… postpone until the start of next month." Mrs. Hannigan finished. She met both of our eyes. "You both will apologize to each other."

I slowly turned my head to face James. He was already looking at me, an almost dazed expression on his face. "I'm sorry." He apologized, meeting my eyes. I couldn't tell if he was sincere or not.

_I wasn't sorry though. _I realized that as I opened my mouth to apologize, ready to get this over with. I closed my mouth and then tried again. I couldn't lie.

"Mrs. Rider." Mrs. Hannigan said sternly. "We are waiting."

I swallowed my pride and tried to find some part of me that was sorry in any way. "I-" My voice came out as a squeak. I looked away from James's eyes. "_I'msorry_." I rushed out, my voice an octave higher than usual. Just as I expected, I'm still a terrible liar.

Finally, we were dismissed from the office and I have never walked faster in my life, but somehow James caught up with me.

"I do want to apologize again," He started. "I-I didn't mean to blurt that out, I just didn't-"

"Think?" I supplied. I scoffed and kept walking, heading towards my locker to grab my books.

"Yeah!" He nodded. "I'm usually not like that, I promise."

I glanced at him. "You're lying." I accused.

I caught him again. He held up him hands, "Alright, yeah, so sometimes I'm a bit of a flirt, but I was serious."

"Serious about what?" We reached my locker and I opened it, pulling out my books.

James finished eagerly, "About a movie."

I paused. Slowly, I turned towards him. His big brown eyes were wide and I was reminded of a puppy. He was using the puppy dog eyes on me. Aw _hell no. _"Not interested." I replied flatly.

James looked surprised. "Really? Are you sure? Cause-"

"Certain." I said, slamming my locker close. "I have no desire to date you, or anyone right now." That was the truth. "However..." I began, "I'm curious... what was the circumstance for the delayed detentions?"

James actually flushed at this and replied, "I don't know..."

"Hmm." I slammed my locker door shut. "I've got class. See ya, stupid." I walked away, leaving him alone in the hallway.

"See you soon!" He called out.

_God I hope not._

* * *

"So, how was school today?"

"Uh, fine."

"Did anything exciting happen?"

"...Define exciting…"

"Katherine." Elizabeth said warningly.

I sighed. Elizabeth had called to check up on me. It was early morning for them, but dinnertime for me. I was sitting down with a bowl of cereal in hand when the phone rang.

"I got some soda spilled on me…" I mentioned slowly.

"Go on."

"So, I uh, I…" My tone grew guilty, no matter how much I didn't want it to. "I punched him."

"Katherine!" Elizabeth said sternly.

"I-I apologized!" I added quickly. "Plus I was wearing a white shirt, so it totally was okay, right? Self-defense and all?"

I heard her sigh through the phone. "Please, don't mention this to Peter." After a couple of moments when there was silence and froze. My eyes opened wide with realization. "... I'm on speaker, aren't I?"

"Yup."

I bit my lip. "Peter's there too, isn't he."

"Yeah." This time it was Peter's voice.

"Well," I drawled out, "I've got homework to do…" I wanted out of this conversation now.

"How's Satchmo?"_ Thank you Elizabeth.  
_

Once I assured them that Satchmo (and I) were being well-fed and all, I hurriedly ended our phone call. I let out a breath of relief, then grabbed my bowl of cereal and headed upstairs.

I wasn't lying about the homework.

* * *

Peter and Elizabeth left on a Wednesday. I had the little incident on Friday. Saturday was a free day.

Which I was spending in my room, under house arrest.

Agent Jones had checked up on me already in the morning. He would rang the doorbell, come in anyway, check out the fridge and the rest of the doors, ask if I was having trouble with anything-which I always replied with 'No sir, no trouble at all'-he'd pet Satchmo for a bit, then leave. Although he's much better than that Diana woman. For some reason, she scares me.

Moving on though, technically, I wasn't allowed to leave unless for school. But now, as I was sitting on my bed, staring at the window, I was reminded that I never said anything about not leaving the house. It was only a second story jump. I'd survive. Unless there were alarms on this window. I frowned, thinking. How would I leave? _What would Neal do?_

I wiped that from my mind at once. Neal Caffrey, while an amazing con artist, (truly legendary), also had gotten caught. By Peter. A light bulb suddenly went off in my mind. My window was surely set for an alarm, but what about Peter and Elizabeth's? I gathered my things quickly, shoving them into an old canvas bag of mine. Then I snuck out of my room and to the master bedroom. Once I arrived, I crept in, sneaking over to the window.

I promised myself that I wasn't running away.

I was simply taking a break.

_Getting some fresh air._

_Getting into some trouble._

I smirked at the last one. I shifted the bag against my shoulder, it felt odd up against my back. I put it down and started taking things out of it. I froze when I touched paper. I pulled out the mysterious paper. My face was cold as I stared at the file I had stolen from Peter's office. It was such a long time ago, I had honestly forgotten about it. Carefully, I opened the folder up, my eyes meeting the ones of the ID photo in the file.

An older woman, looking to be in her twenties, was smiling up at me. She had auburn hair, freckles, and blue eyes. Subconsciously, I reached for the photo, but yanked my hand away. I bit my lip, looking at the photo. Finally, coming to a decision, I grabbed the picture, pulling it out of the file and shoving it into my pocket. I shoved said file back into my bag and lugged it over my shoulder.

Before I left, I glanced around at the room a finale time. I took a deep breath and slowly unlatched the window. I opened it, waiting for the alarm to go off.

Nothing but silence. I let out a small '_Woohoo_!', but clamped a hand over my mouth right after that. I placed a leg carefully over the sill and looked down.

A second story jump. Totally safe. The window was in the backyard, and there was trashcan right under it, that I could land on. I put both legs over the window sill and gently maneuvered myself so that my back was facing the open window. I gripped the edge tightly. One at a time, I put a leg down completely, so that I eventually was dangling against the wall of the house, hanging only by my fingertips on a window sill.

I couldn't see down to see how far the trashcan was. I let go of the sill and was pleasantly surprised to find that the trashcan was only a foot away from my feet at the time. Still, I ended up losing my balance and falling over. Luckily, I managed to bend my knees, so that the pain shooting up my legs wasn't quite so bad.

I opened up the gate of the backyard, stepped outside, locked it, and then left, going off on my merry way.

* * *

I found myself outside a thrift shop. I was fond of thrift shops, not so much for the shopping, but just the way that it was usually laid out. The smell in the air. I tried taking in a breath through my nose but coughed on the old smoke scent.

Still, I was not usually this happy and I wasn't going to let anything ruin it. I had lots of time before I needed to return back to the house.

I strode inside the building, the bell on the door jingling cheerfully. I glanced around before wandering over to the furniture section. After glancing at an old couch and dresser, I headed over to the clothing section. The whole store was a mish mash of different items.

On a coat rack, where a bunch of different hats and jackets, there was something that caught my attention. I briefly touched the red cap on my head. I had gotten for Christmas from the Burkes. I tried on the attention grabbing hat and looked at myself in the mirror. It had a brim, and was almost diamond in shape. I wanted to buy it, just for laughs, but I didn't bring any money with me on this trip. (A fact I realized after I jumped from the window. And let's face it, no way am I going to try to climb back up again so soon.)

I contemplated on stealing the hat, but decided that it wasn't worth the risk. I still really wanted the hat. I glanced that the cashier. I could always come back tomorrow and buy it then. Just as I was going to hide the hat, so that no one would buy it while I was away, I ran into someone.

"Sorry!" I exclaimed. The person was holding several suits wrapped in plastic.

"Oh, it's fine." The person assured me. It was an elderly woman, which made me feel twice as bad, who was wearing a rather nice blazer and skirt. She had dark skin, and dark eyes, paired with a kind smile. She placed the suits on the counter. "I'm just dropping off some of my late husband's suits. I thought I was finished with it, you see, but it turns out that these don't fit the man I had given them to, so I'm just going to donate them."

I nodded. I knew this type of person; they liked to talk a lot. She reminded me a bit of SJ.

The woman looked at me, "What are you doing here, if you don't mind me asking?"

I shrugged my shoulders, not seeing the harm in answering. "Just wandering about. I've been… busy, this past week, and haven't been able to get out." I still felt bad about bumping into her, so I said, looking down at the suits as the person behind the counter took them away, "Uh, nice-looking suits…"

"Thank you," She replied graciously. This was starting to get a little awkward.

"Well, sorry for bumping into you, ma'am…"

She stared at my hands, "That's a nice hat you have there."

I glanced at the hat in my hand. The name came to me suddenly. A fedora. "Yeah," I said sheepishly.

"Well?" She inquired, looking at me. "Are you going to buy it? Don't let me stop you."

I gaped for a moment before muttering, "I, I was just…"

"Hmm?"

I relented and decided that it wasn't worth it. "I was going to put it back. I forgot my wallet."

She smiled at me kindly. She offered, "You know what? I'll buy it for you."

"What?" I deadpanned.

She was fast, grabbing the hat from hands and handing it to the cashier. "I would like to buy this, please."

"That'll be $5.56, ma'am." She handed the cashier the money and turned to me.

She made a hand gesture at me and I immediately removed the red cap I was wearing. Quite elegantly, she placed the hat on my head. For the first time in a while, since Elizabeth, actually, I was nervous on how someone viewed me.

My short, choppy hair was in need of a good brushing and I'm sure I had some trace of dirt on face, hidden among the many freckles. My clothes weren't quite dirty, but wrinkled. Despite this, I straightened out my shoulders and put on a smile. "Thank you, very much ma'am. I-I, I will repay you, I promise." Now that was a promise I intended to keep.

She laughed it off, "Please, it's fine. It's nothing."

I shook my head, "When I make a promise, I intend to keep it. I can pay you tomorrow. Would you like to meet up here, around the same time?"

The woman gave me a kind, but secretive, smile. "How about you just drop it off at my house?"

A little confused, I nodded. "Sure, where do you live?"

After she gave me her address, and her name (June), we parted ways. I was walking down the street with the slightly worn hat in my hands. It was easy to play with and I grinned when I managed to flip it in the air and catch it on top of my head.

_Yeah, sometimes life doesn't really suck that bad._

* * *

_Life sucks a lot right now._

It was Sunday; I had gotten the money to repay June for the hat from the stash of pickpocketing money that was hidden in my pillow. (Not my pillowcase, to be specific, but the actual pillow.) Now I was standing in her living room, staring at someone I thought I would not see again. At least, not for a while, anyway.

"It's Kat, right?" Neal Caffrey said, extending his hand. "It's good to see you, I like the hat."

I struggled only slightly to stop the blush from rising in my cheeks, which I succeeded at. I took his hand and shook on it briefly, before immediately letting go.

June had to leave, actually. Something about a forgotten lunch date with an old friend. She let me right in, after taking the money I had forced upon her. "I won't be back for a while, sadly." She was telling me. That's when Neal came bounding down the stairs.

After realizing how late she was, June rushed, well, it was really more like gracefully walking, out the door. Leaving me with Neal.

I had worn the hat that June had gotten me, wanting to try it out. However, I regretted wearing it now, because as I was looking at Neal, I could tell that fedoras were very much his style. He was dressed smartly, in a nice looking suit.

I was dressed not smartly.

I refused to let that stop me from being myself, and being a shaking little mouse. Instead I straightened out my shoulders, gaining my full height of 5"9. It felt like deja vu. "It's nice to see you again too, Caffrey." And it was, I have to admit, Caffrey's a legend to pickpocketers.

Neal, ever the charmer, broke the awkward silence immediately. "You know, I was quite shocked when I learned that Peter and Elizabeth had a foster kid."

"I was too." I responded smartly.

He chuckled, "So, how did you meet?" He was straight to the point.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's-" I stopped, remembering exactly how Peter had caught me pickpocketing. I had run into Elizabeth later, and ended up having a disastrous dinner with them. "It's a bit of a story." I ended nervously.

"I would love to hear it."

"What about you?" I asked, changing the subject. "How'd Peter catch you? I mean the first time, not the second time."

Neal chuckled, looking down briefly before meeting my eyes. "It's a bit of a story." He replied cheekily, using my own words against me.

"Maybe our stories aren't so different." I guessed, making it sound like I knew more than I did._ I wasn't lying_, I told myself firmly.

Neal's eyebrows rose at my statement. "Really?" He asked, eyes lighting up with curiosity. "Do tell."

_In too deep,_ my mind reprimanded me. Still, I played his game. "I'm with the Burkes for a while… for my protection and for… probation of a sorts."

"Probation?" Neal repeated. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yup. I'm on a bit of a short leash, like you." Making a point to look down at Neal's feet, I said, "Although… I don't have nearly as fancy collar like yours."

"Ouch!" Neal exclaimed jokingly, clutching his chest. "How did you meet June, then? If you won't answer any of my other questions."

I dodged again, replying with, "How did you end up here?"

"I live here."

My jaw dropped a bit. "You're joking." I glanced around the place. "This is like a freaking castle."

Neal chuckled and nodded. "I stay in the guest rooms upstairs."

I paused for a moment. "Bet Peter wasn't too happy about that."

Neal shrugged his shoulder. "I didn't do anything wrong."

I grinned. "You're pretty much exactly how the rumors say you are."

"And what do they say about me?"

That I didn't answer. I wasn't going to say anything about how the month after Neal was caught, he was all anyone would talk about. The guy was good-_really good_-and he had been caught. Everyone I knew decided to lay low for a while after that.

I replied, "Does it matter?"

"Not really." He shot back. "To be honest, I'm more interested in your opinion. What do you think of me?"

'You're a legend.'

'I'm a kinda fan.'

'You're a pretty damn good con-man.'

Instead of those, however, I blurted out, "I think that you should not have gotten caught." I bit my lip, holding back a rogue piece of laughter that threatened to burst through. Neal looked surprised for a moment before recovering.

"Again, brutally honest." Neal noticed.

My inside laughter still trying to die down, I added cheekily, "Oh don't worry Caffrey, you can count on me to be brutally honest."

Neal raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Sorry, Caffrey." I said, panicking on the inside. "A thief has got to have some secrets." No lying. _No lying. _I took a step back, towards the door. "Nice meeting you again. Could you, uh, try not to mention this to Peter? He seems to think that you're a bad influence."

Neal smiled at me. "I'll try." He promised. "It was… pleasant chatting with you, Kat." As soon as the words left his mouth, I was out the door, running again.

_You can't run forever, Katherine. _A familiar voice told me.

_Just watch me. _I bit my lip, my fists clenched. I took in a deep breath, but kept running, dodging through the crowd of people.

_Just watch me, because you'll never be able to catch up. _

(Except that wasn't the truth. It was a wish.)_  
_

* * *

"Hey-hey, Katherine! Wait up!"

I walked faster.

"Katherine!"

I didn't look when I heard someone catch up to me, matching my stride.

"Woah, you've got some legs there!"

I bit my lip, trying my hardest not to punch the teen. James, also known as the newest annoyance in my life, had taken to following me around whenever he could. Mostly he would apologize for pointing out my, ahem, small boobs (his words, not mine) and then try to ask me out.

"Oh, I don't mean, like, a compliment, I meant that they're really long. So you have long strides. Not to say that they don't look nice…" James trailed off when I stopped walking.

"James."

"Yes?"

I sighed, meeting his brown-eyed gaze. "Are you going to stop talking any time soon?"

He shook his head.

I gave a groan and continued to walk towards my next class.

"There's a new movie out, you want to go see it?" James asked me, walking backwards so that he could face me. I secretly hoped he would fall again, but it seems that Fate was not in my favor.

"James, I'm not going to go see a movie with you. I'm not going to go on a date with you. Or an outing, or whatever you want to call it." I stopped, and so did he. We were right outside my classroom.

James's eyes were wide again, giving them that puppy-dog effect and I felt my bitterness go down a bit. They reminded me of some of the kids back at the foster home. "I…" I searched for the right words, "It's not that I don't… appreciate," My voice rose higher at the last word and I couldn't look at him in the eyes, "The offers… but you're just not… my type." I ended it hurriedly, making it sound a question, instead of a statement.

"I'm everyone's type."

My bitterness came back in full. I snarled at him, hoping to throw him off and then stormed inside of the room, slamming the door shut.

"What?" I inquired harshly, glaring at the kids who stared at me. I tossed my bag to the nearest seat and waited until the teacher arrived.

Only two more days until Elizabeth and Peter come back.

* * *

I looked mournfully at window in Elizabeth and Peter's room. It had served my purpose well, but it was time to lock everything back up. (Although, truth be told, getting back up through the window was a pain.) I walked around the room, making sure that everything was in its place and then slowly closed the door behind me. I hid everything 'incriminating' in my room again, changing up the hiding places. I tucked away the file I took from Peter's office a while back ago underneath the rug.

I climbed down the stairs, picking up trash where I could find it and making sure that everything was in its place.

I thought of Kaiden, and how he would be laughing at me, picking up and walking around like a normal kid with loving parents would do. My fists clenched, I tried to fight back the urge to break something. My fingers started getting that old itch for 'devil's play'.

I needed something to distract me.

I checked into the kitchen, and then decided to do something kind of reckless and very unlike me.

* * *

An hour later, along with several burnt fingers and some flour in my hair, I stared at my masterpiece. I had wanted to do something for Elizabeth and Peter (mainly Elizabeth) when they got home.

Turns out that I was pretty good with a lock pick _and _a tube of icing.

The cake, chocolate of course, was covered with butter-cream frosting. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing, but decided to just go with it and try to follow the directions in the cookbook I found on the shelf the best I could. All in all, It didn't look too bad.

I glanced down at Satchmo, who was looking at me balefully. "No cake for you, sorry buddy." I told him. The clock read 8:00 and I had school tomorrow. I needed to finish up some terrifying math homework and get some sleep. They said that they wouldn't be home until late.

It hit me then that I had been in this position before.

"_I'll be back soon sweetie."_

"_How soon?"_

"_...I'll be back at four."_

"_Promise?"_

"_I promise, I-"_

There was a crash and I realized that while dazed, I had shoved a glass off of the counter. I leaned down, picking up the glass with a resigned sigh. After sweeping and cleaning everything up, I headed upstairs to finish up that terrifying math homework.

* * *

Peter Burke opened the door to his home with a smile. "It's good to be back." He said to himself.

"Shh!" His wife Elizabeth told him. "Kat might be asleep."

Peter rolled his eyes. Even when he was on vacation, and with daily reports from Diana and Jones, he still felt nervous with Kat being home alone. Not because he cared, because he didn't, but because she might trash his house or something.

"Oh… Peter, come quick." Elizabeth piped from the kitchen. Peter came immediately, setting the bags he carried in by the stairs. If Kat had done something-

His eyes widened. On the counter was a cake. A chocolate cake, if the crumbs told him no lies. It wasn't very pretty, the icing was full of crumbs and it looked a little misshapen, but the small designs on the cake weren't too bad. On top of the cake, in blue letters, was a message, assumingly from Kat.

Elizabeth chuckled when she read it and Peter shared her reaction as well. They leaned on each other for a moment, enjoying the view before Elizabeth said, "I'll get the plates."

"Yeah, I've got forks."

On top of the cake, written in neat handwriting, was a single word.

_Thanks._

* * *

**THE END**

**I went back and edited this chapter after I posted it. The original was very rough. Yikes, my bad!  
**

**Anyway, what did you think of that? Tell me thoughts please in a review! **

**With that out of the way, it's time to say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	11. Fedora

**Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar**

**ATTENTION ATTENTION READ THIS:**

**I edited the last chapter, 'James'. I just changed it a little bit, nothing major, but I did not realize all the mistakes I made, so I had to redo it. Please go back and read it, it just moves so much smoother. **

**Also, this is the second, third, and fourth episodes of White Collar!**

* * *

"I'm just saying, you would make a great model."

"SJ, my tolerance for you has never been very high, and right now you're pushing it."

"I've always been rather good at pushing things."

I narrowed my eyes at SJ, the pretty red-head grinned at me. It was science class and we somehow managed to get stuck as lab partners.

"Still, Katherine, you're tall-"

"SJ." I hissed. "Please drop it." I tried focusing on what the teacher was saying, but my attention kept wandering. I noticed a familiar head that was crowned with dark, uncontrollable hair a few chairs in front of me.

"Fine." SJ pouted, getting out a pink pen and writing down what was on the board. Ever since Fashion week in the city started, it was all SJ wanted to talk about. Apparently she had quite the knack for drawing and constantly doodled little designs on her notebook, scraps of paper, napkins-anywhere she could. This is what Kaiden tells me.

Now she's been trying to convince me that I could be a model. 'You're so tall, you'd look soooo good in (insert unrepeatable name here)!' is what she had said to me, first thing Monday morning when Fashion week started. I could not even pronounce the name if I wanted too. I rolled my eyes almost every single time she told me something similar to that. Just because I was tall, didn't mean I instantly became a model.

"Ms. Rider, do you know the answer?"

I looked up at the teacher, Mrs. Jones and everyone turned to look at me.

Including _him. _I caught him trying to mouth something, most likely the answer, but I ignored the boy.

"I wasn't listening, Mrs. Jones." I answered honestly.

She looked a little taken back, but she recovered quickly. Frowning a little, she let out a sigh. "Well at least you were honest with me. Can't say that about everyone else here though."

The other kids in the class gave out small cries of outrage, but she waved them off. "Just try to pay attention." She warned me, before choosing another kid to answer her question.

He still hadn't turned back, but instead was just staring at me.

I stuck out my tongue at him and then looked upwards toward the board. I tried to block out his annoying chuckles. Needless to say that I did not succeed.

* * *

After dinner, while I was begrudgingly washing the dishes, I eavesdropped on Elizabeth and Peter's conversation. There was a case about someone smuggling inside a dress or something. My hands slowed down scrubbing the plates in order to listen.

Elizabeth's pleasant tones make their way to the kitchen, "You meet this guy in Central Park. And you give him the dress and he gives you the girl."

"That's about the size of it." Peter said.

"I'm really glad you got into the White Collar division where nothing exciting happens." Elizabeth said facetiously.

I snorted rather loudly and then began to scrub the dishes hurriedly, not wanting to attract attention. After several moments I tried focusing on their conversation again.

"It's my old watch... I-I-I love my new one though." Peter said.

"Come on honey," Elizabeth replied, "It's big, it's clunky, it moves around your wrist. And I mean, it's beautiful, but it's not you. Take this."

I heard rustling and movement, before Elizabeth spoke again, "I need you to be Agent Peter Burke tomorrow, and this, this is you… Besides, when all of this is over with, I need you home at 6 right on the dot."

Everything was quiet for a while after that.

"Kat, are you listening?" I heard Elizabeth ask suddenly.

I froze, realizing that I had been scrubbing the same plate for a while. Voice squeaky, I answered reluctantly, "Maaaaybeeee."

There were chuckles, and I went back to finishing up the dishes.

* * *

"A Bible?" I repeated, my fork pausing in midair. "Why would… someone steal a Bible?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Peter said, digging back into the dinner.

I raised an eyebrow. "Stealing from a church, that's…" I trailed off when Elizabeth gave me an interested look. I stayed silent, trying to move over the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Are... are you..." Peter tried to say.

"Am I religious?" I filled in. I stared down at my plate, feeling a little less hungry. "My…" I took a deep breath, "..._mother _was religious. I just haven't been to church in a while, I guess."

Elizabeth, thankfully, swerved the conversation away, telling Peter about her day.

"I'll be upstairs if you need me." I said slowly, interrupting their conversation. I stood up from my seat, my eyes dull, and walked back towards my room. Neither one of them called after me.

* * *

The day after my 'spiritual' conversation with Elizabeth and Peter was surprising, to say the least.

I was in my room, trying to study for the upcoming finals in my classes. School was going to end soon.

It had been three and a half months since I've come to live with the Burkes, and I've been wondering if perhaps that the whole Antonio/Arnold/Whatever his name was fiasco was officially over.

I would go back to the foster home then.

The front door opened and I jumped up in surprise. I quickly got up from my seat at the desk and walked out of my room. I peered down the stairs, "Hello? Elizabeth is that you?" I jumped my way down the stairs and was almost pleasantly surprised.

"Peter. Caffrey." I said, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"We're working." Peter answered sternly.

"On the missing Bible case?"

Peter sighed, "Kat-"

"Can I see?" The words left my mouth suddenly, interrupting Peter. Studying for chemistry was killing me. I needed a break, and what better way than to work on something else?

"No."

"Oh come on," Caffrey came to my rescue, "Just let her sit with us while we work it, it'll be fine."

I stared Peter straight in the eyes, making my own wide. I tilted my head to the side just a little bit and offered up a small sheepish smile, "Please?" I pleaded. Although I hated having to pull the puppy-dog eyes, it was my best shot.

A few minutes later, I was sitting at the end of the table, farthest from the living room, watching Neal and Peter eat and work on the case.

I tried my hardest not to interrupt with my own questions or ideas, although my ideas were very few. However, every now and then, when Peter wasn't looking, Caffrey would catch my eyes and gave me a smile.

I'd like to say I did not blush whenever he did.

I would be lying.

You know, I respected Caffrey a lot, and I mean_ a lot_, what he's done was impressive, but the fact that Peter caught him impressed me even more.

But don't tell either one of them I said that.

"She's about Paul." Peter said, "And she's two degrees away from our homeless guy. But I also have trouble buying the fact that an attractive history professor 'offed a mobster."

I narrowed my eyes at the slightly sexist comment. I opened my mouth to express my opinion, but just then the front door opened, and Elizabeth walked in.

"No, you don't want me to see the missing inventory. Because if I come down there, there's be a lot more than missing centerpieces. You got that?" The usually kind woman practically growled into her cell phone.

"Okay, maybe its not a complete stretch." Peter added, sharing a look with Caffrey.

"Hey guys!" Elizabeth greeted cheerfully , "Sorry, um, its just my vendor." She explained, putting her cell phone away.

"They were just discussing if females are capable of murder." I told her. "According to Peter, the more attractive a woman is, the less likely she is to murder."

"Wah- I didn't say that." Peter replied. He looked at Elizabeth, "I didn't say that, El."

I rolled my eyes. "So was it the fact that she was a pretty woman, or that she was an educated woman that made her unable to kill someone?" I was twisting his words a little bit, but I couldn't help myself. I was bored, and annoying Peter seemed like a good past time.

Caffrey chuckled as Elizabeth turned to look at Peter.

Peter glared at me and pointed a finger upstairs, "That's it, go upstairs."

"What?!" I cried out. "No way, things are just getting interesting."

Peter glared at Caffrey, "I get the feeling that somehow you're already a bad influence."

"Well, I'm just saying that women are perfectly capable of murder." I declared, trying to distract Peter from forcing me to go upstairs.

"I agree." Elizabeth added a little too whole-heartedly. "What's the issue here though?"

Peter pointed to Caffrey, seemingly forgetting that I was still in the room.

Caffrey hopped on the chance. "Alright, I-I think we're dealing with a shell game." He stood up and grabbed the empty cups on the table; picking up a napkin and cleaned out any remaining liquids.

"Visual aids, nice." Peter commented.

"Big Gulp is Paul, dead mob guy, coffee cup is Steve, our homeless vet, and mug is Maria," Neal flipped each of the cups over, "Napkin's the Bible."

"Make Maria the saltshaker." Peter said.

"Maria's the mug. Watch." Neal said sternly. He picked up the Big Gulp. "We'll start with Paul, who for some reason reads Maria's book and realizes that the Healing Bible is worth a hell of a lot cash." He put the cup over the napkin. "But, it's also Barelli's pride and joy. He doesn't wanna risk Barelli's wrath." Neal begins to move the cups, switching up their places. I try to keep a close eye on the cups. I knew that he was going to pull a trick.

Neal continued, "So he gets Steve to steal the Bible."

"Plausible deniability." Peter figured out.

"But if it doesn't work," Elizabeth started, "Then he lets the homeless guy take the fall. Well that's evil."

"It's always the homeless people." I murmured. "Always letting the little guy take the fall." My tone was bitter and I saw Peter pay me a glance out of the corner of his eye.

"He takes the Bible from Steve, calls Maria to make the deal. Something happens." Neal begins switching up all three of the cups now, a steady rhythm going. Peter gets up from his chair. "Yeah, the deal goes down wrong, or Paul decides he wants both the cash and book."

"A shuffle game, really?" I scoffed. "While I admire the choice in such a classic, there's a simple trick to it." Once Neal stopped shuffling, I stood up and reached over the table; knocked over all the cups except the mug. "Big Gulp guy is dead, right? And Bible is gone, so who does that leave?" I picked up the mug, ready to grab the napkin underneath it, but there's just a crumbled up twenty dollar bill.

"What?" I asked, my tone full of disbelief. Where did the napkin go?

Neal laughed.

"How did-but I didn't see-"

Neal grabbed the money, pocking it. He just gave me a smirk and settled back down in his seat. "Never reveal your secrets." Elizabeth replied cunningly, sitting back down as well.

"Well how do we get Maria to reveal hers?" Neal asked.

I sat down, but I kept a close eye on Neal. He managed that trick while I wasn't looking, and I was very curious to how he pulled that off. Slowly, a small smirk grew on my face.

"If I stretch it, I might be able to get a warrant to get into her place." Peter said.

"You know, if she's smart, she's not gonna have that Bible anywhere close to her." Elizabeth added. I nodded in agreement.

"El I've never seen this devious side."

"Don't cross me." She told Peter, adding a wink.

Neal confirmed, "Elizabeth's right about the Bible she won't keep it close."

"I've got it." Peter said, "She knew who you were. Neal Caffrey, master forger."

"Alleged." Neal comment.

"Liar." I coughed into my hand. He glared at me.

Peal continued, ignoring Neal and I. "If she's got the book, it links her to the murder. She's gonna wanna get rid of it. We've got the usual channels locked down. But is she thinks that you might be interested…"

"Convince her I'm pliable."

"We find some street contacts, float it out that Caffrey is back in business." Peter suggested.

Neal shook his head, "No, that could take time to reach her and there's no guarantee."

Elizabeth chimed in then, "Why don't you just ask her out?"

My eyes widened a little bit and I stared at her. Peter and Neal did the same, shooting her looks.

After a pause, Peter said, "That could work. Think she'll say yes?"

At the same time, Neal said, "That could prob-"

Elizabeth confirmed, "Yes."

However, I too answered this at the same time, even though I did not mean for the word to slip out. "Duh."

Peter glanced at his wife and then turned towards me at my words. Neal looked over at me, a little surprised at my words, but smiling all the same.

I felt my ears heat up and I casually looked anywhere but them. "Uh-" I started out, but stopped myself. "I've got homework…" I trailed off, getting up quickly. I walked past Neal and Elizabeth, going through the living room to get to the stairs, but I stopped before I got too far. "Oh wait," I said, pausing. I turned back and threw something onto the table. "This needs to get thrown away."

As I walked away, I heard Neal chuckling, and Peter repeating how already I was being influenced by him. I heard Elizabeth tell him, "Honey, she was already like that."

On the table, was a crumbled napkin. The same napkin that Neal used for the trick.

* * *

Two days later, in the early morning, while I was half-asleep and lying sideways on the couch, Peter walked in, tightening his tie.

Elizabeth, who was already dressed and typing away on a laptop, claimed, "You're up early."

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep. Big day." Peter struggled to tie his tie correctly, and started all over again.

With a laughing tone, Elizabeth pointed out, "I can tell. You're wearing your lucky tie. Hey, did you find the Bible?"

I perked up, interested and curious.

"Yeah, the professor had it." Peter answered.

"I knew it!" I called out from the couch softly. I sat up, looking at Peter in amusement, "I'd offer to help you with your tie, but I only know how to knot a bow-tie."

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" Peter inquired, looking down at me.

I shifted uncomfortably. "A bet." I answered swiftly. "So, what are you going to do about the Bible?"

"Ah, Neal's gonna buy it back."

"You're giving him money. Wow." Elizabeth said, sounding surprised. I was surprised too. Elizabeth glanced back at him, "No wonder, lucky tie."

I repeated, "Neal's gonna buy it back. So you're going to give the _conman_ money. That's…" I rolled my eyes and laid back on the couch, "That'sgreat. Not that I'm _not_ root'in for Caffrey, obviously since the whole 'thieves' honor' thing."

Peter scoffed, "No way. We set up a fake wire transfer… And don't think that I didn't notice that comment, Katherine. I'll have you know, I'm 3-0."

His wife turned around in her chair completely to face him. "Peter, what are you worried about?"

"He has to convince her he's working for us." Peter admitted. "Which means he has to cut his anklet for real. Book's worth a fortune, he could run with it."

I let out a whistle, which made Satchmo's ears perk up. "Woah, no wonder you're worried. Hell I'd be worried too."

Elizabeth sighed while she stood up and walked over to Peter, finally fixing his 'lucky' tie. "Well, you have a lot more faith in a ratty old tie than you do Neal."

Peter stood patiently, "Yeah, well this ratty old tie has never forged a priceless map of Vinland."

"Where's Vinland?" I wondered, not really expecting an answer. Which is good, considering I didn't get one.

"Why is it so hard for you to believe he'd do the right thing?" Elizabeth inquired.

Peter snorted, "Let's just say that's not his first instinct."

I sat up again, staring at the couple. "Neal Caffrey single-handedly broke out of a high security prison-props for that-for a_ girl._ Completely stupid." I let my slight disgust slip out of the mouth. "Who knows what else he'd do for her? Why wouldn't he take the book and just run? He'd head straight for that girl, probably."

Elizabeth looked at me and asked, "I thought you were rooting for Neal?"

"I am." I grinned at her. "Doesn't mean I'm gonna have a thumbs-up on all of his decisions." I scoffed internally. Escaping a prison for love, while romantic, just isn't smart. And getting caught again, that's just plain stupid.

"Peter," Elizabeth began, "While that might be Neal's first instinct, I know that trust isn't yours."

The FBI agent scoffed again. "Occupational hazard. I'd like to know I can count on something."

"I know you do. But sometimes you just have to take a _leap of faith_." Elizabeth's emphasis on 'leap of faith' caught my attention and I couldn't help but think that perhaps it had to do with something else.

"I did let a teenage delinquent live inside my house." Peter pointed out. He and Elizabeth kissed briefly before she walked away towards the table. Peter let out a breath, seemingly thinking deeply.

I gazed at the two of them, wondering what Elizabeth had been hinting at.

"Thanks for that, by the way."

"What?" Peter asked, looking down at me.

"The house thing." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not saying it again." I said stubbornly. I stood up and walked away, giving Satchmo a pet on the head along the way.

* * *

"So…" I started out, making Peter and Elizabeth pause while we ate our dinner. "I was wondering… Have you've caught all of Antonio's men?" I decided to get straight to the point. I was referring to the whole reason why I was even at the Burkes. For 'protection'.

Peter slowly put down his fork. "Well," He said, looking at Elizabeth. She nodded at him and he turned to me.

"We already caught them."

My jaw dropped. "What?" I asked. "What!?" I repeated angrily.

"Kat." Elizabeth said firmly, attracting my attention. Still my anger slowly grew. I had people who possibly wanted to harm and they never told me that they had _already caught them_.

But the again, I hadn't really thought about them a lot to be honest, I had been so busy with school, and finding Kaiden, and sneaking out, and the whole Caffrey thing that it had been on the back burner of my mind until recently.

"Kat," Elizabeth repeated gently. "We have something we want to tell you."

"I'm leaving?" I filled in, keeping my tone completely void of all emotions. "Alright. Soon or at the end of the school year?"

"W-what?" Elizabeth stuttered, "No, no, no, Kat, listen. We want you to stay."

"_Please stay!"_

"_I'll be back soon, sweetie."_

…

"_Promise?"_

"_I pro-_

"You want me to stay?" I whispered to myself, not even noticing that Peter was explaining something to me.

I stood up from my seat, and stared down at my plate. I interrupted Peter, asking, "Why would you want me to stay?"

Peter's face showed some emotion that I couldn't place-doubt, reluctance or whatever-, Elizabeth had a small, yet serious, smile on hers. "Would you believe us," Peter glanced at Elizabeth and then glanced at me, meeting my eyes completely, "If we say we like having you here?"

I didn't know what to say.

_I honestly didn't know what to do._

The foster home was all I had known for a long time and no one has ever said that they liked having me around them, except Suzie and Kaiden.

"No." I replied stubbornly, causing Peter to let out a small scoff. "But that doesn't mean it's not true." I added after a pause.

I took a step back, pushing my chair out of the way and very quickly walked out of the room. I needed… time.

* * *

_A Week Later_

I was currently trying my best not to make a woman cry and let me tell you that that is _not_ as easy as it seems. Elizabeth's good friend's, Dana, husband was convicted of smuggling gold or something. I kinda tuned everything out after a while and just nodded a couple of times. Elizabeth and Dana were at the kitchen table, Dana drinking a glass of something alcoholic while Elizabeth held her friend's hand every now and then.

I was trying not to bring up any painful subjects by being completely silent. I was stuck in the kitchen, making a sandwich because I had gotten hungry while sitting in my room, studying the fi-

The front door opened, and Peter walked in. "Hey honey, hey Dana." He greeted, locking the door behind him. He walked quickly into the dining area, "How you holding up?"

Dana's head bobbed up and down, "It's hard you know. The worst is the not knowing."

I crossed my fingers that Peter wouldn't make her cry. I finished putting my sandwich together and focused on their conversation again.

"He's still charged. It still looks pretty bad." Peter said, sitting down next to Dana. I rolled my eyes, _Great going Peter, that'll cheer her up._

The look Elizabeth gave Peter was priceless and I tried not to let a laugh out.

"There's some evidence anomalies. Someone may have planted his prints on the gold."

"So you mean he really was framed." Dana said.

"Possibly." Peter added. "I'm curious. Did he have drinks with anyone recently?"

I saw Dana's reaction and blanched. Quickly, I compiled my food onto a plate and readied myself to hightail it out of there the first sign of tears.

I didn't see Dana, but I heard sobbing and managed to catch Peter's eye. For a moment, my face was as shocked as his before I glared at him and mouthed, 'Look at what you did.' Quickly then, I rushed upstairs, taking my food with me.

I did not want any part of this. I just wanted-

I paused, standing right outside my door._ What exactly do I want? _I shrugged off my uncomfortable feelings and walked into my room, softly closing the door behind me.

* * *

"You're leaving?"

Peter and Elizabeth looked surprised as I poked my head through the door, whispering. "Well?" I asked, my tone cutting a bit short.

Peter said, "Kat, what-"

"Take me with you."

"Kat!" Elizabeth reprimanded.

I turned to Elizabeth, "Girl time, right? You want to finish watching the movie?" I needed air. I needed to move and 'prance' about. I refused to miss out an opportunity. "Let me go out with Peter, give you and Dana some real quality time to… talk." I finished lamely.

"No, listen-"

"-Peter-"

"Katherine." He cut across me firmly. "I'm not going to take you anywhere! Just-"

"No, no, Peter, this is a good idea." Elizabeth said softly, reminding me that Dana was in the living room. "This could give you two some time to bond."

"It's almost dark outside." Peter protested.

Elizabeth glared at him, but it was my voice that spoke. "Peter please."

The two adults turned to look at me. My cheeks slightly flushed, I said, "I'm not saying it again."

Peter raised an eyebrow, "All your schoolwork done?"

"Most of it."

He seemed to think for a moment before sighing. "Fine," He relented, "Fine, just go get-"

I already entered the mudroom and closed the door softly behind me. I already had my shoes on me.

"Thank you." Elizabeth said to the both of us. She gave Peter a kiss and gave me a hug, which I accepted gingerly. Elizabeth left the mudroom.

I turned to Peter. "Well?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are we gonna go, or what?"

* * *

We were in the car, driving around, when Peter asked me, "So… How's school?"

I noticed immediately how uncomfortable he sounded. "How's the case?" I asked in return.

Peter sighed in relief, feeling more relaxed and in his element with his job. "Like I said before, evidence anomalies, but no solid concrete stuff. However…" He trailed off, focusing on driving.

"However?" I repeated, trying to get his attention back.

"Neal found evidence, a possible lead." Peter said shortly.

I leaned back in my seat, "That's good, right? Caffrey's helping out, right?"

Peter scoffed, "Yeah, it would be, if he actually had gotten it legally."

"Oh no." I murmured, feeling amused. "What'd he do?" I questioned in a slight playful tone.

Peter explained to me what Neal did with only a few breaks from my interruptions. Once done, Peter sighed.

"So, where are we going?"

"I was planning-"

"Could we visit Caffrey?"

"Katherine!" Peter called out, slamming on the brakes for a red light.

Innocently I said, "What did I do?"

Peter furrowed his eyebrows and turned towards me, ready to tell me off.

"Light's green." After I pointed that out, two loud honks were filling our ears.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it!" Peter called out, waving his hand behind him and to the other cars. We started moving again, driving along the New York streets.

"You and Neal can work on the case." I suggested slyly. "I'll just sit and listen."

He scoffed, "That's not exactly something you should be listening to."

I pouted briefly before admitting, "I'm trying."

"Trying to do what, drive me insane?"

"I'm trying to… fit in?" I switched at the last second, but my voice went up anyway. I couldn't look at Peter.

"That's one thing you've got going for you," Peter told me. "You stink at lying."

"Tell me about it." I muttered. We took a sudden turn. "Where are we going?"

"I've got to get something at the store."

"And after that?"

Peter glanced at me, paused, and then answered, "We'll head over to Neal's."

I tried to keep my fist-pump discreet.

"Saw that."

* * *

We stood in front of the door that led into Caffrey's apartment. Luckily, when June had let us in, she didn't give any hint that she recognized me, accept for the small smile directed towards the top of my head.

As a small rebellion I had worn the fedora that she had bought me. Peter had mentioned it while we were walking to his car earlier.

"_What's that on your head?" He asked gruffly._

"_A fedora." I answered, bouncing a little. _

"_It looks ridiculous."_

"_It was a gift. Sort of." I added, after thinking about it._

_Peter gave me a funny look, "When did you get it?"_

_I froze, "A little while ago." I answered, not bothering for specifics. _

"_Hmm." Peter murmured, staring at me for a moment before unlocking the car and getting in. _

"Alright," Peter started, bring me out of my reverie. "I don't want any trouble from you."

Cheekily, I said, "What, me? What harm could I possibly do?"

Peter grumbled before knocking on the door.

"Hey M- my man." Neal fixed quickly as he opened up the door. He glanced down at me, even more shocked, "And my lady." He added.

I rolled my eyes.

"Expecting somebody?" Peter inquired, noticing Neal's mishap.

"Not at all."

"Good." Peter barged in, forcing the bottle of wine he had gotten from the store into Neal's hands.

"Come right in," Neal said after Peter already walked in.

"Thanks." I said, entering the impressive room. "Impressive." I told Neal.

While Neal looked a little annoyed at us walking in practically uninvited (He did say come on in) he grinned when he noticed my hat. I ignored him and walked further into the apartment.

"Unbelievable." Peter said. He walked towards the fridge and placed the beer he had inside. "Last time we had a drink, we made a breakthrough. Hoping tonight we can solve the whole damn case."

I snorted very unlady-like. Neal casted me a look and I told them, "Don't mind me, I'm just sick of the crying." I sat down in one of the chairs at the table. "And don't worry, if Peter has too much to drink, I can drive him home."

Peter stared at me, "I'm not going to have too much to drink and I would never let you drive."

"You have your license?" Neal asked me, relenting and grabbing a wine glass.

My eyes wide and said slowly, "Sure." My voice went up a pitch or two at the end of my sentence, attracting Neal's attention. Slightly amused, he asked, "Really? How old are you?"

"15." I answered solidly.

"Can't get a license til you're 16." Peter pointed out, sitting down at the end of the table.

Caught in a lie, I shrugged my shoulders and looking down at my hands, "That's true. Doesn't mean I can't drive though."

"Where'd you learn how to drive?" Peter asked me.

"Don't you two have a case to solve?" I asked, letting my annoyance show.

Neal sat down and started to pour himself a glass. "So Dana still at the house?"

"Yep." Peter answered readily.

"Oh yeah." I added.

"Here's to freeing Captain John Mitchell, so we can go back home." Peter sipped at his beer.

"I'll drink to that." Neal said under his breath.

There was a sudden knock on the door and Neal stood up quickly, "I'll get that, probably June."

I didn't pay any attention to when Neal opened the door and focused on the skyline outside. An unfamiliar voice that was _definitely _not June's, caught my attention. "Photocopy of a pawn ticket, but I got this coin."

Peter set down his beer, his face turning serious.

I leaned back in my chair, trying to get a good look at whoever was at the door.

"Sorry, Mr. Haversham." Neal announced loudly. "June isn't here at the moment."

"Oh well, uh, too bad. Tell her I look forward to our next round of drinks and Parcheesi."

"Yep!" Neal called out, ready to close the door.

"Hang on a second." Peter said, getting up.

I watched eagerly, already struggling to hold back a laugh.

"Oh I'm sorry, apparently I'm interrupting something." The man at the door said.

"Who are you?" Peter asked.

"I'm the neighbor… Dan...te Haversham. Dante Haversham."

"And you're dating June?"

"Uh, courting! Courting… She, uh, likes a little cream in her coffee." The man came up with.

I snorted and starting to quietly chuckle.

Peter turned to Neal, "You really wanna keep this up?"

"No I don't."

I called out to them, "No, please, carry on, this is hilarious." I stood up, grinning. "I haven't laughed this much since art class."

Neal gave me a glance very quickly before admitting to Peter, "No, you're right, Peter, this is-"

"Hold on," Peter interrupted. "I think I already know… How about I just call you Mr. Haversham?" After a pause, Peter waved him through, "Come on in."

I finally got a good look at 'Mr. Haversham'. He was short, bald, and wore big black glasses.

"Thought you'd be taller." Peter observed.

"Me too." Mr. Haversham retorted.

"Well you're here." Peter murmured. He quickly patted him on the back, "Have a drink."

"Does this I mean I can have one too?" I called out.

"No." Peter shot me down immediately.

I let out a breath of relief. "Good, if you had said yes, I would have taken that can away from you."

Peter stood up and pointed his finger at me, "Stop the sarcasm."

"It's not sarcasm if I'm being truthful." I retorted back.

"I don't drink!" Mr. Haversham protested, drawing Peter's attention.

"Well you do tonight."

After a moment, Mr. Haversham walked into the room completely, leaving Neal at the door, "Gin's good." He told Peter.

I let out a bark of a laugh. "Hey," I greeted casually, raising my hand slightly.

"And you are?" Mr. Haversham asked, studying me.

"I'm the foster kid." I answered. "Most just call me Kat though."

Something crossed his face, but it went back too quickly for me to tell what it was. "Whose foster kid?"

I pointed to Peter, who handed Mr. Haversham a drink.

"There's a mini Suit?!" He exclaimed. Peter looked shocked while Neal just looked exasperated.

"I take great offense to that." I replied, feeling a little annoyed. "Never call me that again." I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.

"I've never seen a Suit wear a hat like that." Mr. Haversham pointed out, mostly to himself.

"Oh for Pete's sake…" I grumbled. I removed the fedora I was wearing and set on the table roughly. "It's just a hat."

* * *

After a few cracked jokes, another mini-Suit name-calling incident, and a few glasses of alcohol, Peter and 'Mr. Haversham' were seemingly getting on quite well. They seemed to have a shared hobby: picking on Neal.

"Girl just leaves him an empty bottle!" Peter exclaimed, getting another drink.

"She should have at least left him a full one!" Mr. Haversham added, laughing.

"Guys, I'm right here." Neal said, sounding a little hurt.

I rolled my eyes, "Just an empty bottle though? That seems a little odd."

"It's symbol." Neal explained hurriedly.

"Fair enough, fair enough." Peter told him, leaning back in his chair. "Whoo, man. Look at that view. Is this why you guys do it? Is this what it's all about?"

I looked at the view. it was beautiful. It was just buildings to me. Nothing special. I never really appreciated art before. I smirked to myself, imagining what Neal would say if I admitted that to him.

As well, stealing for me wasn't about the things I got, it was just a way to pass the time, and make a little money while I was doing it. That, and it was pretty damn fun.

"It's not about the stuff." Mr. Haversham slurred slightly.

"Moz." Neal said, clicking his tongue to get his attention. Neal shook his head, cueing on him to stop talking.

But 'Moz' kept talking. "It's about doing what we wanna do. Who cares about 9 to 5's and 401k's? Playing by the rules only makes… borders that just take away everything that's good about living life."

"Moz, Moz." Neal tried again, "You lived in a storage unit."

"Yeah, but I lived there man. I _lived_. Long as I don't have to live under anyone else's time or dime. I'm a free man. I can do whatever I want."

"Like going to the pawnshop and getting that coin you have in your pocket?" Peter asked seriously, suddenly all business.

I let out a low whistle. "Busted."

"Come on, let's see it." Peter pushed.

Moz sighed and threw the coin up in the air towards Peter. The FBI agent caught it in his hand, and stared at it. "Ah, it's a hell of a thing."

"Islamic dinar from the Abbasid dynasty." Moz informed him. "Last seen in the museum in Mosul."

"How much?" I asked, leaning over to Peter and look at it.

Peter stared me down, "I really shouldn't even know about this-and you really shouldn't ask that." He looked at Neal, "Alisha's guilty, isn't she?"

"Looks like it."

"I'm holding damning evidence and I can't do a damn thing with it." Peter swore.

My eyes only widened a fraction. "...How much is it worth?" I repeated again, looking towards Moz/Mr. Haversham.

Just as he opened his mouth to answer me, Peter cut in, "D-Don't answer that. And you," He pointed a finger at me, "Stop asking questions like that."

I pointed towards the fedora, which was back on top of my head, "Maybe it's the hat." I deadpanned.

"Those are your rules, Tin Man. Not mine." Moz interjected.

"Come on, Peter, give me the coin." Neal ordered, holding out his hand.

Peter ignored him and chuckled, "I can see it now. FBI agent illegally obtains evidence. News at 11."

"Nah," I said, "It'd be at ten." I laughed and added, "That'd be a great story though." I let out a louder laugh, "Imagine if that what's-her face-reporter told it."

Everyone froze. Peter said slowly, "Wait, hold on a second."

"What?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

He grinned, turned to me, and said, "Maybe she can."

After a pause, I spoke. "Did I just give you an idea?" I asked, my mouth dropping in surprise. "Did I just help you on a case?" The corners of my mouth lifted slightly, "That's…" My face paled a little and my blossoming smile faded. I groaned, "Ah man. I'm practically turning into a mini-Suit."

Peter snorted and replied, "No, no you're not."

"So," I began, leaning back in my chair, "How are you going to do this?"

* * *

I watched, feeling content, as Dana and her husband left the house. _Freaking finally. _I stretched my arms over my head and sighed. I had the time to get in a quick nap.

As I walked back upstairs and to my room, I realized that there was something pleasant building up in my body. It took me a moment to realize that it was pride. I scoffed. I had offered one little suggestion that helped them on the case. They would have gotten to it sooner or later without me.

Never-the-less, I closed my door, fell onto my bed, and fell asleep with a smile.

* * *

**THE END**

**What did you think?**

**Longest chapter to date, I believe, just something to celebrate hitting double digits in the chapter numbers! Yay!**

**Thank you for reviewing last chapter, and for all the new follows and favorites. My bae is finally watching White Collar, and is actually ahead of me. I haven't seen any of season 5, or the last of season four, I think. I'm waiting until my fanfiction catches up. Which, to be completely honest with you, might take a while.**

**As well, I'm not quite happy with how I ended the whole Antonio thing, but hey, what are you going to do about it? Hopefully this keeps you happy!**

**Anyway, please review!**

**With that out of the way, it's time to say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


	12. Lily

**Disclaimer: I don't won White Collar. Just my OC and the general plot for her. **

**AN: School has started for me. I listened to "Lips are Moving" by Meghan Trainer for part of this.**

* * *

"Hello, sweetheart."

"Hello, dumbass."

"Your words wounds me."

"Cool. How about my fist wounds you instead?"

"Hmm. How about your lips?"

I slammed my hands face down on the table. "I'm so close to hitting you again, really, I am."

"I thought I did the hitting on?" James cocked his head to the side, brown eyes sparkling.

I groaned, only to be rewarded with a very harsh 'Shhh!" from the other students around me.

"We're in a library, love, you're going to have to be quiet." James tries to put his head near my ear but I take both hands and shove his head back. "We're in a library," I mocked, "I need to study."

"I-" I stopped myself and sighed instead, putting my head on the table. I needed to study, no matter how much I hated it.

It gave me shudders up my spine that I acted this way. Sometimes I wanted to throw everything away and run. I just want to run, run so far away that no one ever, ever finds me. Flip a table or two at school, burn down a museum. Break something. Other times I can't help but want to be near the Burkes. I get a… warm feeling when I'm around them. It felt… homey.

"Thinking of me?"

At school, ever since the 'incident', I was left with quite possibly the most annoying person I've ever met. James. Freaking. Kovad. Also known as the quarterback for the school and the somewhat local flirt. He's made it his personal mission to hang out with me. And make me realize that we're meant to be.

His words.

"James, I'm so close-"

"Tell me more-"

"I SWEAR-" I was interrupted by several 'shhh's'. I stood up, pushing my chair back, and getting away from James. Grumbling, I made my way out of the library. I could hear him follow me out though and into the hallways. I turned swiftly on my heel to face James.

"James, what can I do, to make you leave me alone?" I reasoned for the fifth time.

James pretended to think about it before flashing me a big smirk and answering, "A date."

"That's not leaving me alone." I replied, "That's like, the opposite of leaving someone alone almost."

He shrugged. "One date, Katty. If you-"

"Did you just call me Katty?" My name has several nicknames. Kat, Kate, Katie, Rhiny, whatever. But no one has ever had the-the-the pure audacity to call me '_Katty'. Kat-eee_.

He leaned down towards my face, causing me to lean back. "Mhm." He hummed, smiling a slightly smaller smile, "Whatcha gonna do about it, _Katty? _Gonna bring out your _claws_?"

I controlled my face so that it was blank. I could not show how much this affected me, it would be disastorous. "I will so kick you in the groin if you continue this, asshole."

James tilted his head to the side, making his eyes wide and giving me a pout. "Ah, but Kat-"

I slammed my hand over his mouth, "Stop." I ordered. I seemed to have shocked him into silence. I rolled my eyes at James. "You're a dumbass, James. A dumbass with potential, but a dumbass never-the-less." With those words, and a slight flushed face, I ran-_no_, I walked very quickly-away from James, leaving the tall boy speechless.

* * *

The next day at school I didn't see James at all. Granted, I saw the back of his head during classes, but otherwise, he didn't approach me at all. I didn't question why and instead basked in the lovely absence of him and his annoying-ey-ness.

When lunch came around, I sat between Kaiden and SJ, who were the only ones whoever wanted to sit next to me, it seemed. "Kaiden," I started, setting down my sandwich and gaining my old comrade's attention. I asked the question that had been on my mind for a while. "Why didn't you write?"

Kaiden didn't have a reaction. He met my stare head on. I ignored the murmuring and the laughing at the lunch table and leaned in closer.

"Why don't you write?"

I slid back into my chair, taking in his words. He had me stumped.

I had never written any letters to the foster home. Just like every single kid before me who had left. Every one of them had swore that they would write, but failed to keep that promise.

Luckily I knew better than to make promises.

SJ burst out, "What was it like?"

"Noisy."

"Dingy."

"Luke-warm."

"Tear-soaked."

"Shitty."

"Fu-"

"Alright!" Someone slammed their hands down on the table in front of me. I took in the kid who had interrupted Kaiden and I's answering. Slightly red in the face, they said, "Do you always swear so much?"

"Get over it, Lily." SJ spouted off, munching on her salad as she listened eagerly to us.

Lily, the kid, rolled her eyes at SJ. "Sorry, but I'm not that comfortable with swearing." She glanced over to Kaiden. "You never used to swear this much until Kat showed up."

Kaiden's cheeks grew flushed and he wouldn't looked at me. "Kaiden." I said, raising an eyebrow. "What does she mean?"

"Oh no!" Lily stammered, "I meant, I mean, I didn't mean to offe-"

"Shut up kid." I snapped. Turning to face Kaiden completely, I asked a different question, "Did you turn good-boy on me?"

After a pause, Kiaden finally glanced up and admitted, "Technically, you were never here before, so…" Seeing my face Kaiden groaned and rolled his eyes. "For fu-"

"Kaiden!"

"Pete's sake," Kaiden corrected, glaring at Lily. "Listen, Honesty Policy, my…" His face looked strained for a moment before he continued, "Parents, are pretty good, alright? So I just, well, you know…"

"You wanted to stay." I filled in. "So you cleaned up?"

Kaiden nodded, looking embarrassed and reluctant.

SJ bursted in again with a different question, "Whose Caffrey?"

I knew that she was probably just doing so to change the subject. Still, I answered, "A conman, grifter, alleged art forger… Also, an idiot."

Kaiden spat out his drink. "What?!" He cried, outraged, "What do you mean, an idiot?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, maybe idiot isn't the right word…" I thought for a moment before coming up with a better description of Neal Caffrey. "A romantic." I confirmed.

There was a brief pause before Lily broke it. "Isn't that a good thing?" She asked, tilting her cute little head to the side.

Kaiden snorted, "If you're this piece of shi-"

"Ahem."

"Jeez Lily, get over it. Anyway, this piece of _crap _happens to be not so good with feelings-"

I interrupted Kaiden, "I'm just saying! You've only got a couple of months left, and then you escape freaking prison for _a girl?_ Why?! I mean, it's just plain stupid."

SJ and Lily stared at me and I stared back. I repeated, "I'm right, right?"

Simultaneously, they chimed in high voices, "How romantic!"

"Ugh!" I threw up my hands and laid my head down on the table. "I just don't think so."

"Mhm," Murmured Kaiden. "C'mon Kat, we both know you think he's totally hot."

I slammed my hand over Kaiden's mouth. My cheeks slightly pinker, I corrected him. "I never said that." I replied icily.

"But you think it." SJ tried.

"Who do you think that is totally hot?"

Enter James into the increasingly frustrating equation. "Not the time, dumbass."

He tried to lean on my shoulder but I scooted my chair back, making him move out of the way. I flicked Kaiden on the forehead, "So what if he's good-looking?" I said, scoffing. "He's like, three times my age."

"I highly doubt that."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I'm not saying anything definite."

"You just said he was three times your age!"

"Take heed of the 'like' I placed in there, SJ."

"Kat!" James whined, tugging slightly on the hat I was wearing. "Who are you talking about?"

I slowly turned towards him. "Quite possibly the most clever man I've ever met." However, I did not meet James's eyes, nor did my voice retain its usually low tones. Shoving my terrible lying skills behind me, I walked away from the lunch table, leaving no goodbyes behind.

* * *

"You're in so much trouble." I whispered to Neal. I shared a look with Elizabeth. "Peter's beyond pissed that you lied to him." I 'tutted'. "Almost feels kind of nice to be the one who isn't in trouble."

Neal frowned at me a little and retorted, "Don't you have homework you need to do?"

I laughed, "Yeah right, I'm all-" I froze, thinking over everything that day that happened at school. Eyes wide, I shot up and scrambled up the stairs. "Shit!" I swore, remembering that I still had an entire math problem set to do.

I heard chuckles down the stairs briefly, before hearing Neal getting chewed out by Peter.

I smirked to myself, before frowning at the homework left for me.

* * *

**The end!**

**Hello, my friends! What did you think of this chapter? It's shorter, but I was kind of lost on how to continue, you know… That ending bit was from like the fifth or sixth episode? I don't know, lost track a bit.  
**

**Anyway, school's keeping me busy, but I'm trying to update this! If you read any of my other stories, you'll notice I haven't updated in a while. Currently, my focus is on this story, and EHCLL. I might update IAAB, or ARBAON, but those are not likely.**

**However, EHCLL just got an update! Yay!**

**Please review, and with that out of the way, it's time say-**

**-GP2 OUT!**


End file.
